tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-54300781743155194602024-03-14T10:33:54.302-07:00Moderately Sized Enemy CrabNerd RPG setting stuff.Edrenalinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10391833494987911041noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5430078174315519460.post-78467338170645310912022-04-09T16:09:00.005-07:002022-04-09T16:14:45.924-07:00Ars Magica Session 3 Notes<p> </p><p><br /></p><p>Spark surrenders and is frankly relieved that she isn't going to be killed. As she Cure Wounds herself, Endy Jackson takes a Mage Slayer attack and knocks her out. This is the first time Mage Slayer has been used in the Mage Slaying game.</p><p><br /></p><p>Some minor fireball and dragon-breath shennanigans make Veld and Murdoc yoyo up and down from unconsciousness, even though Murdoc spends all of his movement hiding underneath the bar counter several times. </p><p><br /></p><p>Kes (Veld) is distrought that Sid chose to heal Murdoc first one time.</p><p><br /></p><p>Fawanna Gish-Captain sees that things aren't going good and Planeshifts away.</p><p><br /></p><p>Hartford, an employee of our rival department, rushes in and kill steals the baby dwagon. This pisses off everyone but Endy, and they resolve to kill him again when Endy isn't looking.</p><p><br /></p><p>Endy : "Good work Hartford."</p><p>Hartford : "Yeah you too."</p><p>Murdoc : "What about me?"</p><p>Murdoc : "To your credit, Muroc you were surprisingly at home here in the sewers."</p><p><br /></p><p>Minor police officers rush into the sewers and cuff all the people we've knocked out. We arrested/killed 3/4 of the named targets, not a complete success but not bad.</p><p><br /></p><p>Scene montage.</p><p><br /></p><p>Grand Prosecutor Cynthia Prossinger : "Word on the streets are people are beginning to make plays. I always thought you were reliable."</p><p>Jackson : "You can count on me Grand Prosecutor."</p><p><br /></p><p>Who are these people? What plays? Endy don't know. Endy don't care. He just does what the warrant tells him to do.</p><p><br /></p><p>Veld's spies see Aubrey Dijitra, Master of the Secret Police, coming out of Grand Arcanist Cipe Pineles office multiple times in the week. Aubrey is Veld's greatest career rival and this makes Veld very suspicious Aubrey is making a play for power.</p><p><br /></p><p>As Kelp comes out of the kitchenette with microwaved soup. Encounters his blackmailer Cipe Pineles and gets cornered by her.</p><p><br /></p><p>Cipe : "Lovely work as usual. I heard from Hartford you were quite at home in the sewers."</p><p>Kelp : "I was just doing my job."</p><p>Cipe : "Can I ask you for a small boon?"</p><p>Kelp : "Anything for you lady."</p><p>Cipe : "Keep an eye on Veld."</p><p>Kelp : "Oh I see him at work all the time."</p><p>Cipe : "Yes, that's why I asked. Just keep an ear out for gossip."</p><p>"I don't gossip."</p><p>"Well now's the time to start making a habit of it."</p><p><br /></p><p>She goes for a shoulder pat but decides not to make contact as Kelp is always quite moist and kinda gross.</p><p><br /></p><p>Revolutionary leaders Spark and Striker are in jail.</p><p>Striker looks miserable.</p><p>Spark is speaking the propaganda fed to her by the Secret Police, being filmed and broadcast by a flying eye.</p><p><br /></p><p>Minor police are making more crackdowns, where they used to use sting operations they just arrest people now. Aubrey Dijitra seems to be moving.</p><p><br /></p><p>Spoils of War:</p><p>Censer : +2 Flail, 10 ft, Finesse. 1/LR/BA 10 ft Aura for 10 minutes, 1d4 healing at Start of Turn.</p><p>Silver Greatsword : +3 Greatsword. On a 20, confirm by d4. On a d4, it's Vorpal.</p><p>Half-Cape Mantle : Fly Speed 20 ft. 1 time At-Will 2x speed. Opportunity attacks have disadvantage.</p><p><br /></p><p>No teleporty magic focus as Fawanna Gish-Captain escaped. Whomp whomp.</p><p>We level up.</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><b><br /></b></p><p><b>Episode 3</b></p><p><br /></p><p>Meg asks us how we commute to work. Frankly this isn't something I've ever thought about my fantasy cop guy.</p><p><br /></p><p>Sid walks to work.</p><p>Veld drives in a flying car equivalent.</p><p>Endy takes public transport using the suspension railways.</p><p>Murdoc lives in a closet at work and never leaves the office. Though he claims to have a "home."</p><p><br /></p><p>There were discussions of carpooling, but I think Veld would have offered to carpool and then just not showed up to pick up the others.</p><p><br /></p><p>Sid is on a skybridge on her morning commute when she gets ambushed by 5 Godskin Disciples.</p><p>They are loose bags of a variety of humans and tiefling skins. Stitched together with an alabaster white, velvety looking patch of skin. Sid recognises this skin as being from the corpse of her dead goddess floating in the Astral Sea. Her own powers are provided by the jar of the goddess' hair she keeps with her.</p><p>They sluice towards her.</p><p>Sid crits twice and one-shots one through the eye slit and it deflates.</p><p>Sid gets slammed twice, grappled, enveloped by one. She is blinded and unable to breathe.</p><p>Godskin Disciples hork up white and black fire that looks like the night sky.</p><p>The Disciples are not super strong but they are annoying. Sid manages to take care of them all.</p><p><br /></p><p>Sid hears a voice coming from a nearby rooftop, from someone invisible.</p><p>"Finnegan Sidney, I proclaim you recreant and apostate. You uphold the power of abominations and you will all face your reckonings soon. For I have not forgotten what it is to hunt anathema."</p><p><br /></p><p>The Godskin Disciples are made from people stitched to scraps of Sid's dead goddess' skin. The cultists believe that magic is unnatural and are divinely charged to kill magic users.</p><p><br /></p><p>Sid also wants to kill magic users, but she's willing to work with magic users to do it cuz she's a hypocrite. 🙂</p><p><br /></p><p>Sid believes that a member of her cult is going to assassinate a public magic user of the 7th City and narrows it down to Grand Prosecutor [[Cynthia Prossinger]] who is a low level order cleric as she is the most accessible.</p><p><br /></p><p>Sid calls us from around the water cooler and commandeers a meeting room for an emergency meeting. She just tells us about the attack on her life and neglects to tell the Zootopia squad that the assassin is a member of her own cult.</p><p><br /></p><p>We go to warn Cynthia of her possible assassination. </p><p>Her girlie receptionist stalls us. "She's busy now from 3 to 3:45. I can pencil you in after though?"</p><p><br /></p><p>We impress on her that it involves Cynthia's safety, and she squeezes us in for a quick 10 minute meeting.</p><p><br /></p><p>Sid reports the potential threat on Cynthia's life. Cynthia immediately starts drafting a warrant for this assassin's arrest. Unfortunately, we don't have the assassin's name so we can't fill in the paperwork. Endy takes this opportunity to refill some of the legal forms he's been running low on.</p><p><br /></p><p>Cynthia : "Why don't we leave the warrant for now and we can backfill it later."</p><p>As she says this, Murdoc spots an oozy little guy on the glass. A Godskin Disciple.</p><p><br /></p><p>We hear the girlie receptionist get murdered in the room next door. </p><p><br /></p><p>Sid hears : "Up on the chase it seems. You still have not lost your instincts, but you have lost your drive. You know she upholds magic, yet you still have not struck her down."</p><p><br /></p><p>A star shooting down surrounded in black fire slams into Cynthia.</p><p>From the palm of a 7 foot tall hunched creature covered in a cloak of stitched skin.</p><p>The hood is a mouth of the dead goddess and the cloak is made of her face.</p><p>The assassin is identified as a Godskin Revenger.</p><p>Wielding a blade with two ends, one end is a hook, the other is like a drillbit.</p><p>Made of a rib and carved into this shape.</p><p>The Godskin Peeler.</p><p><br /></p><p>A bunch of Godskin Disciples break through the windows and attack.</p><p><br /></p><p>The Godskin Disciples grapple and smother people and generally act as roadblocks. The Revenger can bonus action Invisibility and Hide, and just launches an artillery of magic bolts at us in the form of stars surrounded by black flames.</p><p><br /></p><p>Cynthia Prossinger flees from the meeting room and goes to hide in her office.</p><p><br /></p><p>We clean up the Disciples with suspiciously little difficulty and chase down the Godskin Revenger. The Revenger uses the Godskin Peeler to shift people around the battlefield, and swap places when he's hit causing allies to accidentally attack each other. But we do manage to corner him.</p><p><br /></p><p>The face-skin cloak billows out, and the Revenger uses them to fly away from us. He also horks up some more star-flame which force themselves down the faceholes of the corpses around, re-animating all the Disciples close to him.</p><p><br /></p><p>Disciples we previously killed and thus disregarded as threats, sluice towards Cynthia Prossinger. Threatening to sluice through the gap in her office doors to go strangle her.</p><p><br /></p><p>The Revenger attempts to escape as we scramble to save Cynthia, and flies out the window.</p><p><br /></p><p>At the last possible opportunity, Sid shoots her fellow worshipper in the back as he flees. She puts down her bow, as he plummets down 500 feet to go splat onto the streets below. Like a water balloon bursting.</p><p><br /></p><p>The pieces of her dead goddess the Revenger used will become hers.</p><p><br /></p><p>Roll Credits.</p>Edrenalinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10391833494987911041noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5430078174315519460.post-86539058057420755682022-04-08T15:28:00.002-07:002022-04-08T15:29:07.427-07:00Ars Magica Session 2 Notes<p> The Episode begins a week after the Zootopia Squad have deposited the Lord and Lady Ashbee in the Statue Garden where they have been petrified for their crimes.</p><p><br /></p><p>A dog-sized, six-fingered crawling claw arrives holding an immediate summons to the offices of Grand Arcanist Cipe Pineles. We arrive at her Foyer and are obviously expected as we don't immediately get blown up by arcane defenses and die. The Coward Murdoc Kelp has died this way before.</p><p><br /></p><p>We get ushered into her office where we see two Cipe Pineles having an exasperated conversation between each other. One is obviously Aubrey Dijitra, Master of the Secret Police, impersonating Cipe Pineles. We can tell it's Aubrey, because she has a big flying eye behind her.</p><p><br /></p><p>They are discussing a revolutionary with connections to foreign powers known locally as Spark, real name Vienna Ledl. She is a Fire Genasi actor with a penchant for giving speeches to incite insurrections. She is accompanied by a Green Dragonborn, known as Striker, real name Bellio Venean.</p><p><br /></p><p>The flying eye projects a short loop of video of them being chased, before Striker hits the camera with a censer. Spark wears a gold theater mask and red dress while Striker wears a tricorn hat.</p><p><br /></p><p>They have attracted the attention of Githyanki raiders, who have a grudge against the 7th City after the Sea Kraken Gha'um'thes, the Pirate-King of the Githyanki, burned to death in his ship after attempting to raid the city. With his death the Githyanki Raiders fractioned into many disparate factions that offer no real threat. His son, Ga’alas Prince-in-Exile seeks revenge and is now working with Spark. He is accompanied by Fawanna Gish-Captain, an old Githyanki spellsword raider.</p><p><br /></p><p>Cipe and Aubrey present us with a brand new warrant for Spark and Striker's arrest, while ordering us to kill the Prince in order to prevent the formation of any stable Githyanki leadership.</p><p><br /></p><p>Spark is giving a speech in 2 days at a theater in the Auberndale Heights, a less well-to-do part of town. We are required to infiltrate the location so they don't get spooked and arrest Spark. Aubrey provides an agent to assist our infiltration, as we're kinda ass at subterfuge. We're a SWAT team, not secret police.</p><p><br /></p><p>Hartford Goodwin, Air Genasi Assassin shows up and is our contact. We give him most of our weapons which he magically stows somewhere, so we can enter the venue. </p><p><br /></p><p>Murdoc Kelp trusts Hartford with his life. Endy Jackson trusts Hartford with his stuff, which is more important than his life.</p><p><br /></p><p>We get Seeming cast on us to seem like regular civilians and infiltrate the theater. The theater is full of civilians but we spot revolutionaries holding hidden weapons. We spend way too long discussing where to sit in the theater to optimise for combat. </p><p><br /></p><p>Spark begins her speech, and we roll initiative. Resulting in a big theater fight which leads to a long sewer chase sequence, as Spark attempts to flee while we pursue.</p><p><br /></p><p>Highlights:</p><p><br /></p><p>Prince-in-Exile Ga'alas dealing 2 damage short of one-shotting Veld Dreadbringer.</p><p>Veld Dreadbringer applying fear to half the theater, and it immediately getting cancelled by Ga'alas.</p><p>Veld successfully Hold Personing the escaping Spark, but then getting knocked unconcious immediately so it doesn't matter.</p><p>Fawanna Gish-Captain fireballing and stabbing Veld Dreadbringer and killing him.</p><p>It's not a good day for Veld Dreadbringer.</p><p><br /></p><p>Finnegan Sidney and the return of Pro-Choice Judy Hopps.</p><p>Sid revivifying Veld.</p><p>Sid having 330 ft of Darkvision.</p><p>Sid getting knocked unconcious by Fawanna Gish-Captain in the sewer hideout.</p><p><br /></p><p>The Coward Murdoc Kelp tripping over a balcony and landing prone while getting beat up by riled up commoners.</p><p>Then killing said commoners with a Thunderous Step.</p><p>Chasing after the escaping Spark and Striker alone into the sewers, an atypically non-cowardy move.</p><p><br /></p><p>Endy Jackson running on stage, shouting "You're under arrest!" and immediately stabbing Spark with a dagger. </p><p>Lots and lots of very slow running after Spark.</p><p>Deep sadness over not having retreived the shield and javelin of lightning that were given to Hartford.</p><p><br /></p><p>Hartford Goodwin outperforming all of us. </p><p>He kills the Prince-in-Exile, knocks out Striker and is the only one able to keep up with the escaping Spark besides Kelp.</p><p>We (not Endy) are considering killing him in the sewers cuz he's making us look bad.</p><p><br /></p><p>Currently : </p><p>We are in a sewer rebel hideout.</p><p>Sid and Murdoc are knocked out on the floor.</p><p>Fawanna Gish-Captain and a Red Dragon Wyrmling are fighting Veld.</p><p>Endy just busted through the back storeroom, and found a cowering Spark in the corner.</p><p>She begs for her life and Endy says "We're not going to kill you. We want you alive." 😬</p>Edrenalinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10391833494987911041noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5430078174315519460.post-78060022514637777162022-03-05T18:28:00.005-08:002022-03-05T18:56:51.564-08:00Ars Magica Session 1 Notes<p>Session 1 Recap.</p><p>PCs:</p><p><br /></p><p>Grand Apparitor Veld Dreadbringer (Kes), Leonin Conquest Paladin, he/him.</p><p>Tyrant-to-be. Ambitious, career driven, currently hiding the fact he's a paladin and a spellcaster. Wants to rule eventually and will do anything to get there. Lots of fear effects passed off as the Leonin roar.</p><p><br /></p><p>Finnegan Sidney (Meredith), Tiefling Gloomstalker/Twilight Cleric, she/her.</p><p>Murderous hypocrite. She worships a dead goddess floating in the Sea of Time, and carries a piece of the goddess' husk around that grants her magical powers. (I think it's a jar of hair?) Loves order and hates magic-users. But it's fine for her to use magic to hunt down wizards because she has her goddess' blessing and she's doing it for "good."</p><p><br /></p><p>The Coward Murdoc Kelp (Josephine), Simic Hybrid Aberrant Mind Sorceror, he/him.</p><p>Moist coward. Is a spell caster in a city where that's a death sentence. Blackmailed into mage-hunting. Good thing it's not hard to blackmail him. Got a seaweed situation going on.</p><p><br /></p><p>End-Them-Rightly-With-Mortal-Force Jackson (Ed), Tiefling Battlemaster, he/him.</p><p>Military cog. Follows orders and doesn't ask questions. Carries around a small booklet that he quotes numbered precepts from. His higher ups told him not to think about the hypocrisy of working with spellcasters so he doesn't.</p><p><br /></p><p>The game starts with the camera zooming into the 7th City at the End of the Sea of Time. A Victorian style metropolis. It is shaped like 3 overlapping circles, like a Venn diagram. A huge obelisk made of unidentified grey metal towers at the center of each circle. Each City at the End of the Sea of Time has it's own obelisk. We have 3 cuz we annexed the 4th and 5th City, leading to a huge growth in the size of the city.</p><p><br /></p><p>Skyships are floating through the air.</p><p>Zoom into the Golden Towers. The richest area, close to one of the richest docks.</p><p><br /></p><p>Immediately we airdrop out of an airship onto the balcony of Lord Florence Ashbee and Lady Samantha Ashbee, with a warrant for Florence Ashbee's arrest. They are minor Lords of the Nine Hells and are known spellcasters but they haven't previously been caught casting spells in the city. They summon their devils in the embassy where we don't have jurisdiction. Florence Ashbee finally slipped up when he used Prestigidation to season shitty food cooked by an undercover cop.</p><p><br /></p><p>Their devil servants are psionically packing up their furniture and they're clearly preparing to leave the city. Someone's tipped them off that we were coming.</p><p><br /></p><p>Roll Initiative. As each PC takes their first turn, there's a mini flashback of them hours before the mission.</p><p><br /></p><p>Grand Apparitor Veld Dreadbringer meets up in his tower office with Aubrey Dijitra, Master of the Secret Police. They are roughly equivalent in position and I don't think they like each other. Aubrey is some sort of super-Doppelganger and mimics Veld's appearance for this conversation. Aubrey was the Vizir of the Hundred-Fold Celestial, the ex-ruler of the 4th City, before it was conquered. Aubrey also controls hundreds of beholder eyes acting as surveillance drones and a bunch of dog-sized crawling claws? (I think) that act as messengers.</p><p><br /></p><p>Aubrey is giving Veld the bureaucratic runaround about a warrant on Florence Ashbee. "Oh, didn't you receive it yesterday? The Crawling Claw with it must have gotten lost." </p><p>Veld tracks down the claw and finds the warrant.</p><p><br /></p><p>Apparitor Finnegan Sidney is meeting with the Blade of Justice, Executioner Ruskin van de Velde, a giant Minotaur wielding a massive axe. Though the handle of the axe is in pristine condition the axe head is stained with dried blood. </p><p><br /></p><p>"Apparitor, so I hear you're going off to bring in Lord Ashbee. It might not be that bad a mistake if someone slips up and kills him. Lords of the Nine Hells are slimy rats. It would be a real shame if he managed to escape."</p><p>"Yes it would. Wouldn't it."</p><p><br /></p><p>The Coward Murdoc Kelp meets with Grand Arcanist Cipe Pineles AKA That Hypocrite Bitch, finest wizard working with the law to bring down other magic-users. She is blackmailing Murdoc Kelp, otherwise he will be trialled and executed.</p><p><br /></p><p>"So I heard you would be storming Lord Ashbee's estate today. For the good of the city, it would be perhaps useful to confiscate some of Lord Ashbee's papers. Knowing how he summons demons will allow me to make better wards against them for the city."</p><p>"Whatever you say, Grand Arcanist."</p><p><br /></p><p>End-Them-Rightly-With-Mortal-Force Jackson meets with The People’s Word, Grand Prosecutor Cynthia Prossinger. Air Genasi and aggressively by-the-book to maximise the chance of a successful case.</p><p><br /></p><p>"We know his wife Samantha Ashbee is a spellcaster, but we don't have any evidence against her. Unfortunately, if we touch her the case could fall apart."</p><p>"Ok, so we threaten her husband's life to grab evidence."</p><p>"Yes, you understand."</p><p><br /></p><p>Back to combat.</p><p>I don't have the play-by-play of a 6 hour combat. </p><p><br /></p><p>Enemy combatants:</p><p>Lord Florence Ashbee</p><p>Lady Samantha Ashbee</p><p>2 Behemoth Devils - Big devils.</p><p>2 Bloodriver Psions - Animated blood goo.</p><p>2 Bearded Devil servants</p><p>An Imp</p><p>Ichorstone Bodyguard - Carved stone, with a hole dripping ichor in its chest.</p><p>Erinyes Bodyguard - A corrupted angel. 2 arms are holding a bow, 2 others are holding longswords.</p><p><br /></p><p>Highlights include:</p><p>Veld immediately dashing in with his fear to stop Florence escaping. And eating a 7th level Finger of Death and getting impaled and violently un-impaled by the Ichorstone Bodyguard's lance.</p><p><br /></p><p>Then Veld Channel Divinity fearing basically everything.</p><p><br /></p><p>Murdoc Kelp summoning a Slaad Amongus and hiding in a corner. And then dying in that corner immediately after setting up a Hunger of Hadar zone.</p><p><br /></p><p>Murdoc dropping a fireball from that very same corner.</p><p><br /></p><p>Finnegan Sidney's Twilight Channel Divinity just keeping everyone alive. And her Revivifying Murdoc even though we were heavily debating whether it was worth it.</p><p><br /></p><p>Oh, and summoning Pro-Choice Spiritual Weapon Judy Hopps.</p><p><br /></p><p>Bloodriver psions boiling everyone's blood. And then random bearded devil servant #1 kills Murdoc.</p><p><br /></p><p>Lord Ashbee trying to convince Lady Ashbee to run as we have no evidence against her.</p><p><br /></p><p>Florence : "Run they have nothing on you!"</p><p>Samantha : "I'm not leaving you behind." *Casts Fireball*</p><p><br /></p><p>Lady Ashbee bonus action kissing Lord Ashbee.</p><p><br /></p><p>Endy Jackson using goading attack on both Behemoth Devils to tank damage.</p><p><br /></p><p>Lord Ashbee trying to Banish Lady Ashbee to Hell for the full minute so she can escape. And also catching Endy Jackson in the Banishment. (This Banishment lasts for around 1 hour and 40 minutes IRL)</p><p><br /></p><p>The Ichorstone Bodyguard tanking insane amounts of damage for Florence and keeping his concentration up. And just leaving black ichor everywhere. And it kills Amogus.</p><p><br /></p><p>Single-target damage can't break the Concentration as the Ichorstone Bodyguard tanks it, and our only source of AoE damage (Murdoc) is dead.</p><p><br /></p><p>Veld yo-yoing up and down due to being very low HP and standing on the ichor. Then finally getting annoyed, smites the bodyguard to death and breaks the Banishment concentration with a polearm master bonus action attack.</p><p><br /></p><p>Murdoc dispelling a full-health summoned Bloodriver Psion.</p><p><br /></p><p>Pro-Choice Spiritual Weapon Officer Judy Hopps knocking out Lady Ashbee.</p><p><br /></p><p>We knock both Ashbees out, basically leaving just the corrupted angel bodyguard left.</p><p><br /></p><p>Murdoc getting knocked unconcious on the opposite corner where he previously died, and nearly getting killed by the same servant again.</p><p><br /></p><p>Endy sheathing his sword at the end of his turn in order to prepare for throwing javelins at a flying bodyguard next turn. Then immediately drawing out the sword again as the bodyguard flies over to us.</p><p><br /></p><p>The other 3 just trying to fight the last bodyguard for several rounds while Murdoc is passed out in the corner. We're losing it and hysterical at this point cuz it's like 6 hours in.</p><p><br /></p><p>After the fight, Murdoc tries to sneak some scrolls. We spot him but he's so greasy that we let it slide.</p><p><br /></p><p>We escort the Ashbees to the Statue Garden, the bottom floor of a very high-security inverted prison tower. The Warden will take them. The Warden is a 20 foot long giant Basilisk. The Warden turns the Ashbees to stone.</p><p><br /></p><p>We're evil baby.</p>Edrenalinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10391833494987911041noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5430078174315519460.post-45702216090287853612020-07-25T09:39:00.051-07:002020-08-08T14:29:31.091-07:00Lorya Megadungeon Pt 2. - Theming<h2 style="text-align: left;">Introduction</h2><div>Follow up from Pt. 1: <a href="https://averagecrab.blogspot.com/2020/07/lorya-megadungeon-pt-1-naming-of-things.html">https://averagecrab.blogspot.com/2020/07/lorya-megadungeon-pt-1-naming-of-things.html</a><br /><br /></div><div>Before fleshing out individual dungeons I thought it would be important to give each district unifying themes that would inform the direction of future design. I've written out a short description of each area boss and paragraph of what the area they control looks like and how it affects the city. Some areas could have more interesting hooks but I'll leave that to when I actually flesh them out.</div><div><br /></div>The megadungeon of Lorya is divided into six districts, each with a different theme. Each is ruled by a Sovereign, 6 powerful members of the King's court. They were the ones who sealed King Weyland in his Throneroom after 7 forgotten heroes prevented his apotheosis, splitting the Keys to the Castle between them so no singular member would be able to seize the latent power that resides in the Throne. All have grown mad in the aftermath, the City of Lorya stagnates in a state of undeath as the Districts remain in a delicate state of balance.<div><br /></div><div><h1>War District:<o:p></o:p></h1>
<h2><br />
Sovereign – Ullrix the Tower:<o:p></o:p></h2>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l2 level1 lfo18; text-indent: -18pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span face="" style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]-->Fire Giant.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l2 level1 lfo18; text-indent: -18pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span face="" style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]-->Once was the Royal Smith, consumed by passion to
create. Has turned slightly insane. Wants to be left alone. Smashes many of his
creations due to perceived imperfections.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l2 level1 lfo18; text-indent: -18pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span face="" style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]-->His bellows fuel the Forge of Suns, the excesses
of which turn into Living Fireballs which spill onto the streets.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l2 level1 lfo18; text-indent: -18pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span face="" style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]-->Stubborn. But can be negotiated with between
fits of rage. Desires rare metals to smith with.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l2 level1 lfo18; text-indent: -18pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span face="" style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]-->Key to the Castle: Lies in the Forge of Suns,
better have fire resistance if you want it.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<h2>Zones:<o:p></o:p></h2>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l13 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span face="" style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]-->Gnolls and Orcs, the Vanguard and the Heavy
Infantry of the King’s Army are fighting an endless war in the Bloodfields and
wish to control the Forge of Suns. Xyrr the Butcher controls the gnolls while
Kharg the Deathless controls the orcs. Can be manipulated against each other?<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l13 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span face="" style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]-->The Forge of Suns is spewing out fire elementals
and constructs into the streets. Creating weapons without purpose.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l13 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span face="" style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]-->The Hawklords of the Rookery Tower have turned
into Naz’Gul like creatures, making travel unsafe. Hawklord Omitae believe the
city is under siege and everyone is a combatant. The Blind Augur is trapped
there. She watches over the city with her birds making her an invaluable source
of information.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l13 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span face="" style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]-->Criminals in the Jail of the Fettered may be some
of the few sane people left in the city. Chainwarden Kyton haunts the hallways,
impaling intruders on his hooks. Potential allies?<o:p></o:p></p>
<h2>Themes:<o:p></o:p></h2>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l14 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -18pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span face="" style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]-->Conflict<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l14 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -18pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span face="" style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]-->Industrial War Complex<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l14 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -18pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span face="" style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]-->Claustrophobia<o:p></o:p></p>
<h1>Merchant District:<o:p></o:p></h1>
<h2>Sovereign – Lady Avonna:<o:p></o:p></h2>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l9 level1 lfo19; text-indent: -18pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span face="" style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]-->Vampire. Wants blood and control of the Merchant
District.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l12 level1 lfo4; text-indent: -18pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span face="" style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]-->Once a socialite of high status. Haughty, but at
least superficially polite. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l12 level1 lfo4; text-indent: -18pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span face="" style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]-->Dislikes that there are other influential
players in her district.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l12 level1 lfo4; text-indent: -18pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span face="" style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]-->Doesn’t care about the state of the city, just
wants more power.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l12 level1 lfo4; text-indent: -18pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span face="" style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]-->Darkest Dungeon mosquito vampires??<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l12 level1 lfo4; text-indent: -18pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span face="" style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]-->Key to the Castle: In a mirror, must have no
reflection to retrieve.<o:p></o:p></p>
<h2>Zones:<o:p></o:p></h2>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l4 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -18pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span face="" style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]-->Rat Warrens are full of wererats. Ruled by
Ratlord Skren, once a petty crime lord. Contains many passages to many other
districts. Acquire wolfsbane from the Forest District or plate your weapons in
silver in the War district to proceed.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l4 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -18pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span face="" style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]-->Sylsatra Manor, vampires preying on the diseased
folk of Scourgetown. Desire better food sources but aren’t willing to invade
neighbouring districts.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l4 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -18pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span face="" style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]-->Scourgetown, slum area full of diseased people.
Distrustful of outsiders, as anyone not diseased could be a wererat or vampire.
Mayor Remrock maintains marshal law with his goons and controls the food
sources.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l4 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -18pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span face="" style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]-->Theatre of Excesses, a theatre troupe once known
for its shock performances now a death cult of hedonism. Rakdos basically. <span lang="">Random killings, etc. Anything is
forgivable if it looked cool.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<h2>Themes:<o:p></o:p></h2>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l10 level1 lfo5; text-indent: -18pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span face="" style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]-->Exploitation of the poor.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l10 level1 lfo5; text-indent: -18pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span face="" style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]-->Hedonism.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l10 level1 lfo5; text-indent: -18pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span face="" style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]-->Masks and Monsters.<o:p></o:p></p>
<h1>Arcane District:<o:p></o:p></h1>
<h2>Sovereign – Flesh Vizier Rall:<o:p></o:p></h2>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l7 level1 lfo6; text-indent: -18pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span face="" style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]-->Convinced King Weyland to perform the ritual
that doomed the city.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l7 level1 lfo6; text-indent: -18pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span face="" style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]-->Wants to usurp the power King Weyland has
collected and become a god himself.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l7 level1 lfo6; text-indent: -18pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span face="" style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]-->Has lost human form due to his incursions into
eldritch magicks, exacerbated by the Mists of Lorya.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l7 level1 lfo6; text-indent: -18pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span face="" style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]-->Larva Mage, now a mass of tentacles with a
staff.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l7 level1 lfo6; text-indent: -18pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span face="" style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]-->Manipulative, views party as pieces on a
chessboard with plausible deniability.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l7 level1 lfo6; text-indent: -18pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span face="" style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]-->Key to the Castle: On his person at all times.
Covered in fleshy growth.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<h2>Zones:<o:p></o:p></h2>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l6 level1 lfo7; text-indent: -18pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span face="" style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]-->Orrery of Stars gives minor predictions of the
future. Vizier of Rall is waiting for the stars to align for the best
opportunity to seize power. Each prediction requires adjusting the orrery which
rends space-time allowing eldritch creatures to haunt the observatory. Some
escape into the city.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l6 level1 lfo7; text-indent: -18pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span face="" style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]-->Infinite library – Once the Royal Library, now
space-time is unpredictable within, with seemingly infinite shelves. Who knows
what the halls contain? Hidden passages to other districts? The secrets to
what’s happening in the city?<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle">Bodak librarians patrol the halls,
maintaining a deadly quiet and are attracted to any noise. Scrollkeeper Lorelii
will guide you to texts but will not abide anyone checking out a book without a
royal permit, so best keep your reading fast in the library.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l6 level1 lfo7; text-indent: -18pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span face="" style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]-->Midnight Observatory – Chaksh the Many Eyed is
the lieutenant of Vizier Rall, feeding him information observed in the Midnight
Observatory to increase the accuracy of Rall’s predictions. Also functions as
Rall’s way of spying on other districts as the telescopes are capable of seeing
through walls. Chaksh is beginning to lie to Rall in order to fulfil his own
ambitions. Patrolled by gazers and other beholderkin.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l6 level1 lfo7; text-indent: -18pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span face="" style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]-->Refracted Tower is slowly phasing out of
existence. Infested with phase spiders, and their semi-invisible webs. Be
careful or your astral-self will get trapped in their cocoons. Kessox the
Aetherial is trying to expand the influence of phase-spiders across the entire
city to eventually pull the entirety into the Astral Sea.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<h2>Themes:<o:p></o:p></h2>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo8; text-indent: -18pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span face="" style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]-->Cosmic horror<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo8; text-indent: -18pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span face="" style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]-->Space<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo8; text-indent: -18pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span face="" style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]-->Magic<o:p></o:p></p>
<h1>Law District:<o:p></o:p></h1>
<h2>Sovereign – Soulweigher Telantes<o:p></o:p></h2>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l18 level1 lfo10; text-indent: -18pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span face="" style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]-->Sphinx-taur<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l18 level1 lfo10; text-indent: -18pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span face="" style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]-->Wields hammer of justice and beam balance.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l18 level1 lfo10; text-indent: -18pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span face="" style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]-->Can tell what laws you’ve broken at a glance.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l18 level1 lfo10; text-indent: -18pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span face="" style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]-->Any legal failing is punished with extreme
prejudice.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l18 level1 lfo10; text-indent: -18pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span face="" style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]-->Refers to a cyclopean tome of laws and codes
from memory.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l18 level1 lfo10; text-indent: -18pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span face="" style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]-->Doesn’t care about the spirit of the law, only
the letter.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l18 level1 lfo10; text-indent: -18pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span face="" style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]-->Key to the Castle: Wielded by a statue of Blind
Justice. Stealing it is illegal. Planning to steal it is illegal. Thinking
about stealing it is illegal.<o:p></o:p></p>
<h2>Zones:<o:p></o:p></h2>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l5 level1 lfo9; text-indent: -18pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span face="" style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]-->Court of the Blind – Soulweigher Telantes wishes
to judge the worth of every soul in the city. Those found lacking are
trapped/banished, for the Forlorn residents of Lorya this is death. Has
unreasonably high and esoteric standards. Paladins of law enforce these
standards with extreme prejudice.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l5 level1 lfo9; text-indent: -18pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span face="" style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]-->Senate of Concord – Once were new laws were
written, now ruled over by a council of ghosts that have grown stagnant. The
Council try and prevent any change within the city as their thoughts have
calcified in death. Can evoke written laws to bind and capture lawbreakers
within the city. Command an army of ghosts.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l5 level1 lfo9; text-indent: -18pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span face="" style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]-->Ossuary in Gold, treasury of the Kingdom.
Tithetaker Orm guards the treasure trove jealously and wishes to add to the
collection. Metal plated skeleton servants carry out his commands, stripping
the city of valuables and hauling it back. Your contributions are mandatory.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l5 level1 lfo9; text-indent: -18pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span face="" style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]-->King’s Kennel, headquarter of the bounty hunters
of the Kingdom. The Twins, Borhu and Gheti were once the most renowned trackers
of the King, now fused into one monstrosity with 8 limbs. Once they given a
target they will track them to the ends of the earth.<o:p></o:p></p>
<h2>Themes:<o:p></o:p></h2>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l8 level1 lfo11; text-indent: -18pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span face="" style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]-->Stagnation<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l8 level1 lfo11; text-indent: -18pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span face="" style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]-->Order and Rules<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l8 level1 lfo11; text-indent: -18pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span face="" style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]-->Mindless drones<o:p></o:p></p>
<h1>Temple District:<o:p></o:p></h1>
<h2>Sovereign – Deathpact Voka<o:p></o:p></h2>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l15 level1 lfo12; text-indent: -18pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span face="" style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]-->Scythe wielding angel.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l15 level1 lfo12; text-indent: -18pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span face="" style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]-->Only salvation from the city of Lorya is death
by her scythe.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l15 level1 lfo12; text-indent: -18pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span face="" style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]-->Preaches her thoughts to a death cult.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l15 level1 lfo12; text-align: justify; text-indent: -18pt; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span face="" style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]-->Militant follower of the Lady of the Lantern.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l15 level1 lfo12; text-align: justify; text-indent: -18pt; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span face="" style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]-->Trying to quash out the pacifist faction in her
district.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l15 level1 lfo12; text-align: justify; text-indent: -18pt; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span face="" style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]-->Religious fanatic, willing to accept new
converts.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l15 level1 lfo12; text-align: justify; text-indent: -18pt; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span face="" style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]-->Key to the Castle: Interred in a Kindling Flame
of the Profane Cathedral.<o:p></o:p></p>
<h2>Zones:<o:p></o:p></h2>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo13; text-indent: -18pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span face="" style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]-->Profane Cathedral, home to the Kindling Flame,
remnants of a miracle cast long ago. Deathpact Voka runs a death cult out of
the cathedral and they’re recruiting. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo13; text-indent: -18pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span face="" style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]-->Crypt of the Risen, Knight-Captain Ilvaross was
interred here and she does not know she is dead. She is raising her wraith
knights to the defence of the city, which translates to attacking everything
they see.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo13; text-indent: -18pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span face="" style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]-->Silent Belltower, rings occasionally causing
deafening silence. The Orphan Choir do nightly rounds from the Belltower,
singing a song that brings madness to those who hear it. Those who die hearing
it join their song.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo13; text-indent: -18pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span face="" style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]-->Temple of the Moon, Pontiff Elridge is
experimenting on imbuing werewolves with eldritch mutations making horrifying
monstrosities. Perhaps his grand and terrible experiments will result in the
cure for the ails afflicting the citizens of Lorya. Probably not.<o:p></o:p></p>
<h2>Themes:<o:p></o:p></h2>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l16 level1 lfo14; text-indent: -18pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span face="" style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]-->Religion<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l16 level1 lfo14; text-indent: -18pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span face="" style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]-->Madness<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l16 level1 lfo14; text-indent: -18pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span face="" style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]-->Terrible acts with good intentions<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<h1>Forest District:<o:p></o:p></h1>
<h2>Sovereign – Worldtree Parasite:<o:p></o:p></h2>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l3 level1 lfo15; text-indent: -18pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span face="" style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]-->Actually just a tree.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l3 level1 lfo15; text-indent: -18pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span face="" style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]-->Once was a druid named Caiman, responsible for
producing food in the city.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l3 level1 lfo15; text-indent: -18pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span face="" style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]-->After sealing King Weyland in the Lorya Castle
throne room, underwent a ritual to convert themselves into a plant.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l3 level1 lfo15; text-indent: -18pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span face="" style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]-->Now growing out of control and threatening to
spread into the other districts.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l3 level1 lfo15; text-indent: -18pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span face="" style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]-->Now grown to diffuse to have coherent thoughts.
Now just wants to grow. No Thoughts Head Empty.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l3 level1 lfo15; text-indent: -18pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span face="" style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]-->Key to the Castle: In the heart of the tree.<o:p></o:p></p>
<h2>Zones:<o:p></o:p></h2>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l11 level1 lfo16; text-indent: -18pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span face="" style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]-->Worldtree Parasite – Giant tree structure
spreading through the district, threatening to consume it eventually. Patrolled
by a Skyswimmer, a giant flying wurm, that is the ladybird to the aphids that
are adventurers and other intruders.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l11 level1 lfo16; text-indent: -18pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span face="" style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]-->The Rotfields – Once the druid managed
agricultural complex meant to sustain the city in siege, the Rotfields are now
infested with mushrooms and fungi. Death’s Head Misha, member of the Autumn
Court of fey has transformed it into a fungal wasteland. Currently warring with
Wolfrider Mallorant, though it is unclear whether this is a genuine feud or
just a spectacular fey performance.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l11 level1 lfo16; text-indent: -18pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span face="" style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]-->Thorned Garden – Once the hunting grounds of the
King and the Royal court, it maintains its purpose but has changed to a
deadlier game. Wolfrider Mallorant of the Spring Court leads his retinue on a
Wild Hunt through brambles, chasing after their quarry of Men. Currently
warring with Death’s Head Misha, though it is unclear whether this is a genuine
feud or just a spectacular fey performance.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l11 level1 lfo16; text-indent: -18pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span face="" style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]-->Menagerie of Beasts – Enclosure of rare
monstrosities once captured for testing their suitability as beasts of war, now
escaped from their enclosures. The surrounding area has been reduced to rubble
from the territorial disputes of these beasts. The favourite of the King’s Pets
Ava now stalks for prey from beneath the rubble, listening for the tell-tale
tremors of those who would dare encroach it’s hunting ground.<o:p></o:p></p>
<h2>Themes:<o:p></o:p></h2>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l17 level1 lfo17; text-indent: -18pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span face="" style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]-->Growth<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l17 level1 lfo17; text-indent: -18pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span face="" style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]-->Fey<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l17 level1 lfo17; text-indent: -18pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span face="" style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]-->Predators<o:p></o:p></p></div><div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Next I'll probably work on generating random encounter tables for each of the six zones or working on how the different zones are interconnected. Advice on how to spice up zones is welcome, the whole blogpost is also probably riddled with speeling errors.<br /><br />Peace out, rainbow trout.</div></div>Edrenalinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10391833494987911041noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5430078174315519460.post-68234960566524727672020-07-20T16:07:00.009-07:002020-07-21T16:20:19.293-07:00Lorya Megadungeon Pt 1. - The Naming of ThingsThe city of Lorya is my pet megadungeon project that's been sitting in my brain for a while now. May as well start getting it onto paper. Well, digital paper.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Once the shining capital of the Ostravia kingdom, the city of Lorya was consumed overnight in a mysterious gray fog. It's former residents now known as the Forlorn, pale reflections of their former selves that wander the streets. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">In the centre of the city, a giant angel-like figure standing guard on the spires of Castle of Ostravia shoots down all that it sees. Beneath it, a giant golem pummels those who dare approach the castle gates into a submissive paste.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijMaT7ISHJyX9OQgpbA1nhEyHoVghEwplPdDTS44po3-HWcVpbzEv5P3a4wrrQy9ICb14Qxzto_yFpou6niC5gfzFoycQlOjdbN7Tmjlqfup40qIKk7vl8LNmDCagqa8bitS8TpqLDVx8/s759/Panopticon.gif" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="686" data-original-width="759" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijMaT7ISHJyX9OQgpbA1nhEyHoVghEwplPdDTS44po3-HWcVpbzEv5P3a4wrrQy9ICb14Qxzto_yFpou6niC5gfzFoycQlOjdbN7Tmjlqfup40qIKk7vl8LNmDCagqa8bitS8TpqLDVx8/s320/Panopticon.gif" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The city dungeon was inspired by the this design of a prison, known as the Panopticon, where a central guard tower would have an uninhibited view of all the separate cells. The strange design of the city is due to the fact that it did not originate organically. The Good King Weyland simply decided to build a capital city somewhere that would befit his rule, as well as being defensible and self-sufficient in a siege.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOhGBHe6Lo5tfmsHIkhXNOOVNHjgJOICeZYe5oC9HKMHo9PMMG4cx3QYi1CRpTIB6lzo3hyphenhyphensOgm5BPXKxlPuTP-7SpNPbAPYsvwVWpr4KH9_Bp7p7F2xoPuQjyTPVCg_g_z5Pho5uzGP8/s682/graph+%25281%2529.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="682" data-original-width="682" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOhGBHe6Lo5tfmsHIkhXNOOVNHjgJOICeZYe5oC9HKMHo9PMMG4cx3QYi1CRpTIB6lzo3hyphenhyphensOgm5BPXKxlPuTP-7SpNPbAPYsvwVWpr4KH9_Bp7p7F2xoPuQjyTPVCg_g_z5Pho5uzGP8/s320/graph+%25281%2529.png" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Realising that perhaps making a room-by-room crawl of an entire City is an herculean task, I decided instead to make a point-crawl megadungeon around different points of interest instead. The city gets deadlier as you approach the centre, forcing PCs to venture inwards from the outskirts before fleeing dangers and leaving for more suitable pastures.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Each of the six districts once served a specific function in their past life, which now themes the monsters and threats that roam them now. They currently only exist as names and rough themes to be fleshed out in the future, but I'm currently pretty happy as with the names.<br /><br />Defeat the 6 Sovereigns of each district, collect their Keys, enter the Castle of Ostravia and uncover the mysteries of Lorya.<br /><br /><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-mnLE-RMofq_F2M1n_32B0sb1KVn29xizHqlZXJRmDfDwb-imAw2tLfvBN4-FQjZjJKDORiw6jDKedXEzOPutSVSEpA9BHPWbFGRIwY6iSnPuzOwow6TG9vdiO8PnIBW1smoEb9QhUeA/s1099/LoryaNodeNames2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="793" data-original-width="1099" height="564" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-mnLE-RMofq_F2M1n_32B0sb1KVn29xizHqlZXJRmDfDwb-imAw2tLfvBN4-FQjZjJKDORiw6jDKedXEzOPutSVSEpA9BHPWbFGRIwY6iSnPuzOwow6TG9vdiO8PnIBW1smoEb9QhUeA/w781-h564/LoryaNodeNames2.png" width="781" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />Behold! Mine Spreadsheet of Names!</div>Edrenalinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10391833494987911041noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5430078174315519460.post-617271938590126992020-07-20T15:12:00.002-07:002020-07-20T15:12:43.845-07:00Blight King Weyland<span id="docs-internal-guid-72679f7f-7fff-c370-ee98-248b1fcfe128"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Kingdom of Ostravia mourns the passing of Weyland, yet he is responsible for the spreading of the fog that wastes their lands.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In youth, Weyland was a noble and valorant king, upholding law within his lands. Yet, in his old age, his fear of death grew stronger and he feared his accomplishments would turn to dust after his demise. With his vizier whispering in his ear, he would attempt the unthinkable to extend his own life.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Under the guise of a celebration for the 50th Year of Weyland’s Rule, he would offer up the souls of the powerful to a nameless demon of old, known only as the Old One, to grant him the powers in undeath to conquer the continent. His generals, allies and friends gathered within the city, unwitting sacrifices to a forgotten God.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">As the process of the soul-draining began, a group of seven heroes felt the source of their imminent death and stormed the Castle of Ostravia. Cutting through the palace guards, they were able to breach the Throne Room and their last minute intervention was able to prevent the ascent of Weyland into godhood at the cost of the censure of their names and faces from the annals of history. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The ritual failed yet the Old One extracted its due, a white necromantic fog roiled across the land, summoning fiends and turning the people into the Forlorn, shades of their former selves and driven to madness.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Now Weyland sits alone in his Throne Room, sealed by the Forlorn who fear him, and controls the Nightwalker to gather his souls manually so one day he can have his rightful ascension.</span></p><div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div></span>Edrenalinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10391833494987911041noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5430078174315519460.post-61873395541528563322020-07-15T12:03:00.003-07:002020-07-15T12:04:00.613-07:00Thrummer Sandships<p class="MsoNormal">The Golden Sea has grains of sand so fine that it behaves as
if a liquid. Thrummer sandships propel themselves across the ocean of sand by using
the power of wind. A windmill on the ship is used to drive a series of hammers
to strike thrumming stones embedded into the sides of the ship. Once struck,
the thrumming stones emanate a shockwave into the sand and the oscillatory
activation of the thrumming stones down the length of the ship drives it
through the sand. The spinner ships produce a characteristic triplet rhythm as
they travel.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">More expensive models use the bound spirit of an Earth
elemental to coil a spring far more tightly than possible through mundane means
and use the tension in the spring to drive the hammers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The removal of the reliance on wind power
makes for a faster ship, and the ability to increase speed at the cost of
tension on the spring.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The thumping sound of thrumming stones attracts the
attention of purple worms, so spinner ships arm themselves with harpoons as
well as preparing oozes to throw onto the purple worm. If coated in an ooze the
purple worm will dive into the sand to try and remove the sticky substance,
buying enough time for the spinner ship to flee.<o:p></o:p></p><br />Edrenalinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10391833494987911041noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5430078174315519460.post-53134975011134947142020-07-14T18:45:00.000-07:002020-07-15T12:04:08.091-07:00A Seeker’s Guide to Travelling the Twilight Forest. Pt 1.<h2 style="text-align: left;">Foreword<br /><p style="text-align: left;"><font size="2"><span style="font-weight: normal;">A guide to a dangerous ritual. Perhaps not gameable, but written as a creative exercise. Maybe there'll be a Pt 2. when I get round to it.<br /><br />Inspirations : Pale - a web serial, go read it.<br />Gardens of Ynn.</span></font></p></h2>
<h2>Introduction<o:p></o:p></h2>
<p class="MsoNormal">It is important to remember that before travelling through
the Twilight Forest that it is a method of last resort and only to be used in
events of dire need. The ritual may grant you one of several boons and allow
you to travel acrost vast distances between places and planes, but always exacts
a heavy personal cost to the seeker. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Weigh the benefits and risks before proceeding with the
ritual. Even if a Seeker travels through the Twilight Forest relatively
unscathed, the experience of being a prey animal fleeing from a relentless
predator is harrowing and often requires time to recover from. It is a common
tale that a Seeker uses the Twilight Forest to travel for emergency purposes
only to arrive too shaken and agitated to deal with the task they travelled for.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Prepare yourself well and follow the rules of the Twilight
Forest lest you be lost, for even experienced Seeker occasionally fall prey to
the Wolf.<br />
<br />
<br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />
<!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />
<!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></p>
<h2>Choosing a Mask and Guise<span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: DengXian; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p></o:p></span></h2>
<p class="MsoNormal">The first step to travelling the Twilight Forest is the
fashioning of a mask carved to look like a prey animal. Your form will match
that of the animal you chose throughout the duration of your travels through
the Twilight Forest. Choose the animal carefully and to your strengths, as what
is chosen will affect how the Wolf interacts with you and how the hunt will
play out. The most commonly used forms are that of the Deer, Mouse and Rabbit
and their benefits and downsides will be listed here. Other less common forms
may also be used but are outside the scope of this guide.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The Deer is the fastest runner leading to a great advantage
when fleeing from the Wolf, but nigh guarantees the Wolf’s attention and will
almost always result in a hunt. As such, you must be confident in your ability
to flee if you choose the guise of the Deer.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The Mouse is small and stealthy, reducing the likelihood of
attracting the attention of the Wolf, though it is poorly suited for a chase if
noticed. The Mouse is for the stealthy, though often the fear of the Wolf often
leads to Seekers hiding too long in the nooks of the Twilight Forest and losing
themselves in the guise of the Mouse.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The Rabbit is an intermediary choice between the Mouse and
the Deer, it has both the ability to hide as well as the ability to outrun the
Wolf, though it excels at neither. As a result, it requires that the Seeker be
adaptable and be able to accurately assess the situation.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">It is advised to practice occupying the guise of the animal
chosen in a safer environment in case you become suddenly overwhelmed by the
transformation upon entering the Twilight Forest. We recommend practicing Wild
Shaping with Druids or being Polymorphed by a Wizard. A higher risk option is
negotiating a non-permanent transformation with Fey, though this carries its
own risks as you may become ensnared by their deals and gifts.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Once an animal guise is chosen a wooden mask of that animal
must be fashioned by the Seeker. A mask made by someone else will fit poorly
and may be the difference between making it through the Forest unscathed or
falling into the jaws of the Wolf. <o:p></o:p></p><br />Edrenalinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10391833494987911041noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5430078174315519460.post-68601076711688271712020-07-14T18:40:00.000-07:002020-07-15T12:04:39.479-07:001d6 Merchants you meet in a Necropolis<h4 style="text-align: left;"></h4><h1 style="text-align: left;"><font face="inherit">Foreword<br /></font><p style="text-align: left;"><font size="2" style="font-weight: normal;">In the Dead City of Lorya, there is still trade and merchants even as the city dies around them. Not every shadow that lurks round the corner is a werewolf. Some are though.</font></p></h1><font face="inherit"><br />1. Blood Rat Trading Post - </font>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="inherit">These trading posts are marked with signposts for those who
know where to look, but to the untrained eye appear as a simple shadow covered
nook in the wall. The trading posts lead to a complex network of tunnels
inhabited by the Blood Rats, with the entrance too small for any humanoid to
enter. Gaze inside and a multitude of rodent eyes will stare back.<br />
<br />
To offer a trade, place an item at the mouth of the tunnel along with a few
drops of blood to sweeten the deal. Turn the corner and wait. If the item is
gone when you look back the trade is accepted. An item of roughly equivalent
value will be waiting for you at the next trading post at your convenience. <o:p></o:p></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><font face="inherit"> </font></o:p></p>
<h4 style="text-align: left;"><font face="inherit">2. The Jackal -</font></h4>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="inherit">A slender man with yellow animal eyes standing in a circle
of salt. Asks politely for the party to break the circle and release him.<o:p></o:p></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="inherit">Answers “You may call me Jack.” if the party asks who he is.
<o:p></o:p></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="inherit">Will offer the party a gift if they break the circle of salt
and let him out. “This gift might fulfil your wildest dreams. Or perhaps not.”<o:p></o:p></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="inherit">Allows each party member to draw a card from the Deck of
Many Things. Or grants the party the Moon card on its own, but an incomplete
deck is inert and does nothing. The party must collect the other cards from
rivals and monsters if they wish to use it. The Moon card shifts gently towards
the nearest card.<o:p></o:p></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="inherit">Once his gift is given, he transforms into a Jackal and
leaps away while cackling. During the transformation, the jackal head rips its
way out of his mouth as his jaw opens impossibly wide.<o:p></o:p></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><font face="inherit"> </font></o:p></p>
<h4 style="text-align: left;"><font face="inherit">3. Patches the Hyena -</font></h4>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="inherit">A gnoll trader in leather armour who chuckles too much at
his own jokes. He’s spotted a pit where ‘shiny trinkets’ from leftover from
dead adventurers who have fallen in, but he can’t get them alone. He will tell
you the location if you agree to split the profits 50/50. <o:p></o:p></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="inherit">What’s that puddle in the pit? Definitely not a grey ooze,
don’t worry about it.<o:p></o:p></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="inherit">If confronted, he’ll offer a few potions as a peace
offering. If encountered again, he’ll offer to sell undead repulsion charms
made from “genooine” clerics. Effectiveness guaranteed.<o:p></o:p></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><font face="inherit"> </font></o:p></p>
<h4 style="text-align: left;"><font face="inherit">4. Destitute Noblewoman - </font></h4>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="inherit">An undead woman wearing a tattered dress that clearly used
to be very expensive found in the ruin of a mansion. <o:p></o:p></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="inherit">Wishes to relive the glory of her old estate and will trade
old family heirlooms for items of luxury and art objects.<o:p></o:p></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="inherit">Has a vault full of magic items that will only open at her
command.<o:p></o:p></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><font face="inherit"> </font></o:p></p>
<h4 style="text-align: left;"><font face="inherit">5. The Fleshweaver - </font></h4>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="inherit">A crazed biomancer, the Fleshweaver appears with a different
face and limb configurations each time you see them, but is always recognizable
due to their distinctive crab claws.<o:p></o:p></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="inherit">They offer a source of healing and restoration of lost
appendages, invaluable to an adventurer, though patients may end up with
mismatched limbs. The Fleshweaver is eager to offer more overt modifications,
free of charge, and accuses those who refuse of being timid and unadventurous.<o:p></o:p></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="inherit">The Fleshweaver does not accept money and takes specimens of
rare flora and fauna as payment instead. The specimens worth more alive, of
course.<o:p></o:p></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><font face="inherit"> </font></o:p></p>
<h4 style="text-align: left;"><font face="inherit">6. The Blind Augur - </font></h4>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="inherit">A blind girl surrounded by crows and doves in her service. Her
dwelling is decorated with shiny trinkets and knick-knacks the crows have
brought for her.<o:p></o:p></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="inherit">A seeker of lost things and trader of secrets, she is able
to identify magical items and tell their stories for a price. She will only
tell what she knows in return for a secret she deems to be the equivalent
value. This can be of the adventurer’s sordid past or something hidden they
have discovered in their adventures.<o:p></o:p></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="inherit">Those in her favour are always followed by a murder of crows
that caw whenever danger approaches.<o:p></o:p></font></p><br />Edrenalinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10391833494987911041noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5430078174315519460.post-17301381255801214452020-07-14T18:28:00.002-07:002020-07-23T18:36:06.794-07:00The Dead Saints of Lorya<span id="docs-internal-guid-039ab8fd-7fff-3bc3-436c-64edee0f4d88"><h2 dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 6pt; margin-top: 18pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 16pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 400; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Foreword
</span><p style="text-align: left;"><font face="Arial" size="2"><span style="font-weight: 400; white-space: pre-wrap;">Lorya has been swallowed by fog. Its residents slowly losing their Humanity and becoming Forlorn. In their despair they have found a cycle of 7 Saints that govern death. It is unknown whether the Saints bring a peaceful end or are using the worship as a front to collect more souls.
These Saints were created as a challenge to myself to create a super edgy pantheon/setting. Are they cool? I dunno. I hope they're edgy tho.</span></font></p><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 16pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 400; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 16pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 400; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Dead Saints of Lorya</span></h2><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">For the Forlorn death and the loss of their Humanity is inevitable, a fact reflected in the Saints they choose to worship.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Each member of the Dead Saints is believed to govern a different facet of death, each willing to claim the lost souls of Lorya after their final dregs of Humanity are drained away and they are finally allowed to break free of the cycle.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The origin of these Saints is unknown, and they are depicted as faceless and nameless, each known only by their symbology and titles. Despite this mystery, faith among the Forlorn reaches fervorous heights, often leading to conflicts between different sects of the same Saint.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">If you can't choose when death arrives, the best you can do is try and choose how.</span></p><br /><h3 dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 4pt; margin-top: 16pt;"><span style="color: #434343; font-family: arial; font-size: 14pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 400; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Lady of the Lantern</span></h3><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Symbol: Lit Lantern Emitting Rays of Light</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Domains: Light, Grave.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Depicted as a hooded figure with feminine form and indeterminate age, The Lady governs peaceful deaths from natural causes and old age. Considered kindest of the Dead Saints, she has the largest following amongst the denizens of the Lorya, she provides a hope of euthanasia to a people who die too often in fear and violence.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">She guides the souls granted to her with her lantern light, granting safe passage through the Veil.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Corpses consecrated by the Lady and her clerics do not form undead, an invaluable asset in the Dead City. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Her followers view both the conduction of burial affairs and the exorcism of restless spirits as the highest forms of worship in her name.</span></p><h3 dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 4pt; margin-top: 16pt;"><span style="color: #434343; font-family: arial; font-size: 14pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 400; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Old Man of the Woods</span></h3><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Symbol: Deer Skull</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Domains: Nature, Death.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Depicted both as a hunter with a bow and the hunted deer, The Old Man governs deaths in the interactions of predators and prey. Hunters know that He lays claim to the souls of the quarry they hunt, just as they know He will lay claim to their souls when they finally become the prey.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">His claimed souls stock his divine hunting ground, for them to feast upon each other for eternity.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Followers of the Hounding Death provide game and furs to the habitable enclaves of the Lorya, while more militant followers hunt after the horrors that prowl the alleys. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">However, the most fanatical of his followers are indiscriminate in their quarry, becoming beasts that will prey on the flesh of their own kind.</span></p><br /><h3 dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 4pt; margin-top: 16pt;"><span style="color: #434343; font-family: arial; font-size: 14pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 400; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Queen in Bloom, Thrive in Death</span></h3><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Symbol : Skull covered in mushrooms.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Domains: Life, Death</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Depicted as a woman clothed in sheets of fungal growths and a crown of flowers, The Queen governs growth, disease and decay. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">She lays claim to the souls that die wracked in disease, returning them back into the Cycle, creating new life from the corpse of the old.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Her rot farmers provide a constant source of food in the twilight of the Lorya and the fungal thralls act as a disposable work force and militia.</span></p><h3 dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 4pt; margin-top: 16pt;"><span style="color: #434343; font-family: arial; font-size: 14pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 400; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Weaver of Fates</span></h3><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Symbol : Spider in the centre of a cobweb.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Domains : Arcana, Knowledge, Death, Order</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Depicted as a blind woman at a loom, or a cocooned spider, The Weaver governs arcane knowledge and deaths predicted by prophecy. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Those who die in the pursuit of knowledge and the ability to change their fates find themselves in the domain of The Weaver, where She is trapped as they are in the Webs of Fate.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">She empowers those who would seek to know the arcane and curate the mystical, and she conveys hidden prophecies for those who know how to perceive them.</span></p><br /><h3 dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 4pt; margin-top: 16pt;"><span style="color: #434343; font-family: arial; font-size: 14pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 400; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Forged in Flame</span></h3><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Symbol : Sword and Hammer crossed in front of a flame.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Domains : War, Death, Forge.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Depicted as an armoured warrior or a smith at work, the Flame-forged governs the arts of craft and war.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Souls in his domain are given the opportunity to endlessly hone their skills with one another in an unending contest.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">His followers produce the necessary weapons and armour required to survive in the Lorya, while more martial followers may protect communities or destroy them in pursuit of conflict.<br /></span></p><br /><h3 dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 4pt; margin-top: 16pt;"><span style="color: #434343; font-family: arial; font-size: 14pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 400; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Rat King</span></h3><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Symbol : 8 spoked wheel</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Domains : Trickery, Death.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Depicted as 8 rats tied together by their tails, or a hunched figure wrapped in rags with a hidden dagger, The Rat King governs thievery, stealth and murder.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">He is said to teach his true followers the methods to access the hidden passages and alleys between all the other Afterlife domains, allowing them to pass undetected even under the eyes of Saints.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Residents of the Lorya offer him a silent prayer when travelling from place to place, hoping to remain hidden from the dangers that lurk.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Organisations</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">-The Borrowers</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">-The Alleywalkers</span></p><br /><h3 dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 4pt; margin-top: 16pt;"><span style="color: #434343; font-family: arial; font-size: 14pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 400; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Cloaked in Storm</span></h3><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Symbol : Upside down boat</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Domains : Tempest, Death.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Depicted as a man wreathed in clouds and wind, the Storm governs weather, storms and death at sea.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Souls claimed by the Storm sail the Seas for eternity, only returning to land to do the biddings of a god.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">An unpopular god in Lorya due to its landlocked nature, some still revere him due to his dominion over the relatively safe waterways cobwebbing the city.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Clerics invoke his powers to both summon fog to hide from enemy sights as well as summon lightning to smite invaders.</span></p><div><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div></span>Edrenalinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10391833494987911041noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5430078174315519460.post-25518765024769597312020-07-14T18:21:00.001-07:002020-07-15T12:04:18.030-07:00Campaign Setting Intro<span id="docs-internal-guid-c183a61c-7fff-826a-4472-bdaf7ea11489"><h1 dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 6pt; margin-top: 20pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 20pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 400; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Foreword
</span><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 400; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><font size="2">An introduction to my homebrew campaign setting. I wanted to combine an obvious city sized megadungeon with a open sandbox setting where ratcatchers are crawling minor dungeons, looting treasure and putting out fires. The primary central tension is that the primary peacekeeping/expansionist force has collapsed overnight, leaving a massive power vacuum in the area. Many forces are scrabbling to gain an advantage in the chaos and adventurers are caught in the rising tides of chaos and conflict.
Inspirations : Eberron, Dark Souls/Bloodborne, Matt Colville, Wandering Inn, The Gods are Bastards.</font></span></p></h1><h1 dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 6pt; margin-top: 20pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 20pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 400; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Introduction</span></h1><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Kingdom of Ostravia is shattered, its Capital destroyed.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">On the eve of the 50th Anniversary of Good King Weyland’s prosperous rule, a grey mist swallowed the capital city of Lorya and roiled across the land. Those who return from the mists say it is now a land of death and decay, where the former denizens still walk as pale reflections of their former selves. Those who enter Lorya, now known as the Dead City, do not return.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The local heroes, legends and chieftains present within the capital for the celebrations disappeared overnight, and in the resulting power vacuum the kingdom has fractured into many warring baronies vying for power. Marauding tribes of hobgoblins, lizardfolk and sahuagin, once subjugated by the King’s peacekeeping forces, now grow stronger and more daring. The neighbouring countries of Drakes, Dwarves and Elves now hold great animosity towards the humans and blame them for the vanishment of their couriers and ambassadors. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Kingdom has no allies and its heroes are lost. The mists of Lorya’s Lament are still spreading, and no-one knows when or if they will end. Ostravia is in its death throes, but its final lashing spasms may threaten the whole of the continent.</span></p><h1 dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 6pt; margin-top: 20pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 20pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 400; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Ancestries</span></h1><h2 dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 6pt; margin-top: 18pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 400; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Elves</span></h2><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Extremely conservative due to their timeless nature, most elves are content contemplating the nature of the universe within their secluded societies. The elven society is so change averse that individuals who even leave their groves and floating cities are viewed as rash troublemakers and are known as </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">ath’anwe</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, a word which roughly translates to “Troublemaker.”</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">However, change must occur when existence is at stake.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">With the threat of the expansionist Kingdom of Ostravia threatening to conquer their lands some disparate societies of high elves, wood elves, plains elves and drow formed the Confederacy of the Stars and Moon with unprecedented speed. Reluctant to face the combined forces of the elves, a non-aggression pact was signed leading to the stagnation of Ostravia’s conquests. After Lorya’s Lament and the collapse of the Kingdom, the Confederacy has both established itself into the position of power and lost its reason to exist. Now elves argue in long arduous democratic processes about whether to conquer the human lands or whether to dissolve the Confederacy in its entirety.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Those few elves who choose to worship a higher power devote themselves to the members of the Court of Seasons. A powerful group of Archfey who enact an endlessly recurring story of courtly intrigue within the Feywild. The highest form of worship is the Performance, where Elves embody an individual Archfey and perform a year-long passion play of love and betrayal. Numerous actors will die as part of the Performance, and Court of Seasons will only resurrect the players if they deem the stagecraft worthy.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Particularly aggressive elven tribes, now known collectively as the Wild Elves, never joined the Confederacy and refused to negotiate with Humans. Unwilling to view non-elves as sentient, they eat the flesh of the trespassers within their lands. Now with the disbandment of the King’s Army they are eager to exact their revenge on the entire human race for daring to consider elves as their equals.</span></p><h2 dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 6pt; margin-top: 18pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 400; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Dwarves</span></h2><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Natural miners and smiths, dwarves are known for their unassailable mountain keeps. Once driven out of their underground kingdoms by ancient enemies now known only as the Fleshshapers, the unifying goal of the dwarves is to reclaim the glory that was theirs.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Clan and family loyalty is of great importance for the dwarves, and they do not trust or forgive lightly. A grudge made by one dwarf may be carried on by their descendants for many generations, leading to conflicts between different clans that have lasted for centuries.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Dwarves believe in Moradin who forged the Dwarven race out of Steel and Stone, and worship him by honing a craft. Any item made with enough skill may become holy, so each Dwarven priest forges their own holy symbols. Only the most skilled craftsmen are allowed to craft statues, as they are believed to contain a piece of the soul of their subject. Sentient items are treated with great reverence and are often placed in shrines for Dwarves to admire and idolize.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Their mountain keeps protect the dwarves from both invaders above and below. In their endless search for their forgotten lands, they often dig too deep and unearth horrors that should be best left buried, remnants of the Fleshshapers. Recently some clans have been utilising Fleshshaper artefacts to fight against the underground horrors while others view this as heresy.</span></p><br /><h2 dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 6pt; margin-top: 18pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 400; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Drakes</span></h2><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Proud and avaricious, the descendants of dragons share many similarities with their ancestors. The Drakes built great Walled Cities which act as a loose alliance of city states in the Floodplains. It is said that dragon bones were used in the foundations of the Walled Cities, and they have never been conquered by non-Drakes.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Drakes are highly nationalistic and pride for their home city is a integral part of their culture leading to endless bickering about which city is best. City states often send out armies and mercenaries to hold proxy wars for different trading advantages, but if any city is attacked by a non-Drake force they will rapidly rally together to repel the outsider.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Drakes believe in the cycle of reincarnation where exemplary Drakes are reborn as Dragons and while others are reborn as baser reptiles such as kobolds and skinks. Karma is bought and hoarded, commonly through donating gold to the Walled Cities defenses. Upon death, the Twin Judges, Bahamut and Tiamat weigh the soul of a Drake and decide whether it is worthy of ascension.</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Within the last few centuries there has been an immigration of Gnolls into the Walled Cities after their displacement by the Humans and there is an unspoken alliance between the two races. However, conflicts and prejudices do occur and rarely are Gnolls found in the ruling classes within the Walled Cities.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The average Drake does not have wings and cannot use breath weapons, though rarely a Drake is born with a stronger draconic heritage. These are known as Oldblood Drakes and it is viewed as a great honour to have one born within the family.</span></p><h2 dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 6pt; margin-top: 18pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 400; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Half Orcs</span></h2><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">A deeply spiritual, and passionate people, half-orcs generally live in tribes with wildly varying customs. These customs range from druidism to open demon worship. A common thread between different tribes is the practice of ancestor worship, where tales of the half-orc heroes of old are recounted through oral tradition. A half-orc chooses to embody the traits of a particular ancestor, and practices their worship by practicing the skills and arts of their ancestor. This oral tradition and ancestor worship is sufficiently powerful to raise these orc paragons' abilities to grant boons and favours to the levels of the Saints of human faiths, though each paragon’s worshippers is only found within one clan.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The oldest orc clans remember many things, ancestral knowledge passed through oral tradition, including where some of the oldest evils are left buried. Orc clans fight over these areas, some seeking to keep them hidden forever while others seek to release the seals. These hidden wars are viewed as petty tribal squabbles by those who think of the orcs as barbarians.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Half-orcs living within the lands of Ostravia were often conscripted into service of the King’s Army at a young age, but now with the country splintered they have a newfound freedom. With no knowledge of anything but a military life some half-orcs fall into banditry while others roam the lands as knight errants providing the innocents with some semblance of protection.</span></p><br /><h2 dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 6pt; margin-top: 18pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 400; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Gnolls</span></h2><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">A reclusive, pragmatic and self-sufficient people of hunter-gatherers, gnolls live in tightly knit clans with a rigid social pecking order. Important decisions are often delegated to figures of authority, and once a choice is made the entire tribe will put aside their differences and act as one. The most extreme example of this is the entire Gnoll species declaring war on a common enemy, the Raskghar.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Their ancestral enemy, the Raskghar, are twisted reflections of the Gnolls. Created centuries ago from the Gnollish race in a demonic ritual, the Raskghar traded their civilization and sanity for wild strength and madness. Barely sentient and warlike, the Raskghar hunt in order to sacrifice more Gnolls in a ceremony that grants the Raskghar increased strength and intelligence. While the Gnolls were weakened due to conflict with the Raskghar, Human forces drove them into Drake held lands, where they formed an alliance in order to survive.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Every decade, all Gnoll tribes send a representative with a gift to the gathering of the tribes. The gift is meant to benefit all gnolls, and is appraised based on its practical value and the difficulty of acquiring the item. The quality of the gift reflects directly upon the social standing of the tribe that offered it, a good gift will gain a tribe substantial influence amongst the gathering. These gatherings were historically more infrequent, but now with the waning of the Gnoll’s influence they wish to rebuild their strength.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Gnolls practice a form of animism, where each locality has a deity governing it and the communities living within. Often, when entering a new area a Gnoll will offer the local deity a gift of food and drink in order to win favour and good fortune. These deities are neither good nor evil, and often harbour an unpredictable dual nature, capable of either protection or destruction depending on mood and circumstance.</span></p><br /><h2 dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 16pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 400; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Ratfolk</span></h2><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">With their racial history a constant struggle against persecution and slavery, the ratfolk value freedom above all else.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Their earliest history records them as servants and fodder for blood sacrifices in the Snakemen Empire of Hashel, where rat blood fuelled snake immortality. The transgressions of the Hashelites eventually grew too much for the ratfolk, so they retreated to their warrens and hatched a bold plan for insurrection.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">A clever ratfolk known as Zenta the Wise, famed for his oracular predictions, manipulated himself into the position of advisor to the Opal Emperor of Hashel. Zenta foretold of a future endlessly ruled by the Opal Emperor if he made a sacrifice of a feathered serpent, the Couatl who were considered sacred and sacrosanct. This prophecy was a lie. And the Emperor blinded by lust for power believed it.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The divine curse flowed through the veins of the Emperor as he drank the blood of Couatl and the Snakemen lost their powers over life and death. Seizing the moment of confusion, the ratfolk took up arms against their masters. But it was not enough and Zenta died for his treachery.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">As the ratfolk were being cut down by snake soldiers, a young girl named Taiva saw that the Ratfolk rebellion was doomed. As a desperate final attempt she entreated with the feathered serpents for aid. Affronted by Taiva’s audacity, after the ratfolk plan involved the death of one of their own, the feathered serpents refused and banished her from their lands. However, Taiva’s words touched the heart of a young Coatl and it followed behind her as she left the enclave of serpents.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">And so, Taiva rode the Coatl into the Snakemen capital wielding a glowing shortsword rallying the scattered forces of the ratfolk behind her. They marched into the square beneath the Pyramid of the Sun, as the Snakemen were displaying the desecrated corpse of Zenta as a reminder of the price of rebellion. Overcome by rage, Taiva cried out and challenged the Opal Emperor to a duel. And the Emperor foolhardy in his hubris accepted.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Feeling his powers return, the Emperor laughed and unleashed a powerful bolt of arcane energy, scouring the earth into a thick plume of smoke. As the smoke cleared, Taiva and the Coatl reappeared, clad in an aura of silver-gold flame, seemingly unharmed by the blast.. Sensing something was amiss, the Emperor ordered his sorcerers to fire on the duo, yet they continued to advance unaffected by the blood magics. The divine curse still flowed through their veins and they could not harm another Coatl. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 12pt; margin-top: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Then with shortsword in hand, Taiva climbed unchecked to the top of the Pyramid and slayed the Emperor in a single stroke. Seeing that the deed was done,Taiva held the Emperor’s head in the air in victory as she crumbled to ash, her life force burnt out in the effort. When the head of the snake falls, the tail quickly follows; so the Ratfolk won their freedom and they recount the tale of Zenta the Trickster and Taiva the Brave to this day.</span></p><div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div></span>Edrenalinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10391833494987911041noreply@blogger.com0