Greetings and Happy Holidays to you one and all!
Please read the whole message as there are important admin notes included throughout.
This Sunday the doughty band will be exploring the mystery of Gedro pass.
The time / place are: Sunday, January 3, 1 PM at Staatsland. The phone number is 703.691.0580.
After successfully destroying the Lichlord Council and freeing the slaves of the Cauldera (in a manner of speaking ... ), the party now stands within sight of the City of the She Who Waits. (See attached party ballad at the end of the message.)
We're going to run two new players, Stephanie and Zoya, as NPCs for this session. This should help maximize comfort levels on all sides. Next week the core party will talk it over, and Stephanie and Zoya will give me their feedback on joining the party permanently. We'll come to a collective decision.
The party has accumulated a lot, a lot, a lot of background material, and it would be useful for both Stephanie and Zoya as well as the rest of the party to review what it has to date. We'll plan on spending the first hour talking over what the party knows and reviewing material. I'll set the situation the party is currently in and answer questions, but I'm not even going to set-up the GM screens till after the initial review.
**FAIR WARNING** The City of She Who Waits is as more of a mystery, puzzle adventure than anything else.
The City of She Who Waits can be DEADLY if the party plays this as a straight power, tactical dungeon crawl. Plus, it will take some work to get at the really important clues about what is REALLY going on. (Mark, Erich, and Joe showed me "the Usual Suspects" last night; so, blame them! ;-) )
***PLEASE DON'T BRING ANY SNACKS TO THE SESSION (MINUS JOE WHO IS OBSERVING RITUAL DIETARY MEASURES DURING RAMMADAM). STAATSLAND IS OVERFLOWING WITH SNACK FOODS DUE TO THE PARTY'S PAST GENEROSITY, AND THE KIDS AND I WILL BE OVERFLOWING OUR WAISTLINES IF THE SNACK FOOD IS NOT CONSUMED THIS SESSION. GENTLES, YOU HAVE YOUR ORDERS! EAT CHIPS AND DIPS AND SODA, ETC. :-) ***
I'm attaching the same write-up (with modifications) I sent to Mark and Micah at the birth of the party.
Servicum tibi,
Rich
**Prior to Campaign Background**
Here is a little background information for you to whet your appetites. I'd still like to give you more specific character histories and some maps prior to the gaming day.
We'll go general to more specific.
(For more information on the gaming world check out http://www.oocities.com/TimesSquare/9329/ you can also find a map at http://www.oocities.com/TimesSquare/9329/map.gif )
**Time frame for Campaign**
The Campaign begins in Sea season, 2523 Year of the Overlord (YOL) in the Duchy of Kernan of the Kingdom of Tumeria.
Let me describe the world in general terms.
**Overview of Campaign World**
You will be playing in a world that has evolved over the past 18 or so years. I have liberally stolen er ... ah ... drawn from many sources. So, you will find elements of: Tolkein, Glorantha(TM), TSR and many others. It might sound overwhelming and chaotic. The way the Campaign will enfold, it is not. First of all, you will only play in small sections of the world at a time, and even that will be tailored to the type of milieu you want to play in. Second, and most important, my basic rules don't change from one section of the world to another. Basically I have adapted plots, places and faces to my operating system. Your own characters are going to write a portion of the world's history. Don't be surprised if you run into former player characters or hear about them during the Campaign. They will appear as any other GM controlled character. It is a source of pride for many of the players to have their PCs immortalized (either figuratively or literally) in the Campaign world.
The gaming world is based to a large extent on the world we find ourselves in with three exceptions. Magic works. Some people have psionics, and the player characters are all heroes to rank with Conan, Merlin and Kalaban Keen-Eye. (Of course, you don't start out that way!) Even though those are three pretty big exceptions to our accepted physical laws, you can guide your character's actions based on real life experience. You worry about: the weather, food, money, speaking the local language, etc. Your character needs to worry about these things as well. Disease was/is a big killer in our world; it is in the Campaign world as well. Politics are very important; religions have a big role to play. Guilds and large organizations "call a lot of the shots." Commerce and marketing are important in the scope of things. Of course the twist is that magic can be just as effective a answer in the Campaign as technology is here.
The world is divided up into regions. Each region has specific: climates, religions, cultures, businesses, languages, flora, and fauna. Generally the regions are not set apart by "magical barriers." Two areas may be separated by: a sea, a mountain range, a large desert, etc. I have sections based on: Africa, the Orient, Persia, Europe, and places you have not heard of. (You are lucky that H.P. Lovecraft does not have a large tract of land in my world.) Each area has its own specialties. The far eastern portion specializes in arts/crafts and skills which require integration between mind/body/soul. The southern central human kingdom specializes in cabalistic/elemental magic and sea craft. My Persia, the Thousand Isles, specialize in rare spices and places where rare magics are hidden and guarded. The list goes on. If you do not like the place your character is at the moment then just go somewhere else. Of course that is generally easier said than done ... by the by, where does one go to get a good map?
The Campaign world is populated by many races. Races control or predominate in various areas. Trolls live in the Troll Lands. Elves populate areas with plentiful foliage. Dwarves live in mountainous areas. Centaurs thrive in Beast Valley. Humans dominate Xanduru, Timeria and the Eastern Empire. Orcs and goblins can be found in abundance in the Yin Sloth jungles. There are even races bred by wizards which roam the lands.
The forces of various factions clash on the world seeking cosmic supremacy. Foolish old men and priests say that the "gods" nearly destroyed the world long ago and voluntarily agreed to lit their own powers and never again intervene in the world so direct fashion again. Yet, some of these powerful beings offer mortals bargains to do their bidding. Sometimes these "bargains" are not in the character's best interest. Evil and chaotic factions are generally shunned by all right minded peoples. Therefore, the gifts of these gods are dearest of all. You will discover the balances of the forces as play progresses. Remember, if it sounds too good to be true, it almost certainly is.
As already alluded to, there are powerful organizations in the world. Generally, as your character becomes more powerful, you will have to ally yourself with one or more of these organizations (at least temporarily), or you will not survive. These organizations have access to magics, wealth (material goods) and contacts. They can also train you, but each organization has certain requirements to join and remain a member. The "real world" works this way and so does the Campaign world. At the very least, your character needs to understand these organizations to avoid angering them. (A petty thief might be ignored in a big city, but a master assassin is asking for trouble if he works on his own!) The organizations fall into three categories:
1. Religious - related to ethos,
2. Guilds - related to specific skills, 3. Political - feudal/state relations.
**Commonly Know History of the Lands of Man in Xanduru relevant to the Campaign**
The first men were the sons and daughters of Grandfather Mortal who fell from his wounds in the Dead Place. They wee all taken away by the Invisible God to Palmalta to the south.
Great were the adventures that these first mortals knew, and men were known to have great sorcerers in those days. The ancient cities of Palmalta hide the origins of the human race. Great bargains were struck with the forces which inhabited the world and beyond. Some were evil and some were good, and there still remain legends that the sorcerers of old will walk again if properly conjured. Some of the sorcerers built great cities, and some were strangely changed through the pacts they made and the formulae they cast. The first men lived for many years in this land, but at last, the men grew weary of the place they called home.
In the days following the Great Compromise, men ventured in small craft across the great waters of the world to the land later to be called Timeria. The land here was not so touched by the foul hands of Chaos as Palmalta, and the man that lived here prospered. In those days, the elves and dwarves were still weak from their encounters with the Old Ones, and men naturally expanded into the areas vacated by the elder races.
Many men moved into the land of Lei Po north of the Yagha-Tsorv mountains, and they formed a great nation there known as to history as the Great Northern Empire. The leader of the great nation was known as the Invincible Overlord, and this elder land made its capitol at Traagor. The peoples of this land also moved across the Zhorante mountains and west toward the Pool of Magasta. Also in these days evil remnants of the Old Ones continued to ravage the land, and some men of this elder nation bred with demons of the Void. The chief priest of the Overlord was called Mung, and it is rumored that he made foul pacts with the forces of evil and struck bargains with the Immortal Vampire and Lord Eldar.
Because of their foul practices, the elder races and good minded humans banded against this Empire and brought it low, destroying it utterly. It is legended that the gods spoke to three mortals who constructed a great artifact, but such things seem foolish to the right minded --- what can a small party do in the face of a mighty nation? What is certain is that to this day, there is a Great Waste where once there were verdant fields and lakes and rivers. Rumors persist that there are still remnants of the ancient cities and denizens of the Void still exist in this world if one looks in the forbidden places, but this is probably idle speculation.
Men went forward from Timeria again, and they first settled a land called Tumeria in honor of their great empire of origin. In Tumeria they built a great city called Tiola Moldre. Next men settled Eldenvaan and founded Xanduru. Ultimately Xanduru became the capitol of these new lands. Magrax was settled next; its capitol is called Resserlin. The Lunar empire was settled next combining the ways of Law and Chaos; their ruler (whose mortal name is lost to us) was deified in 2050 Y.O.L. as the Red Goddess and added the Lunar Rune to the list of magic sigils. Hamarsin was the next to be settled.
In early portion of the 25th century YOL, the Lunar Empire began to expand across the face of Xanduru, and its ravenous Chaos hordes began defiling and ravaging the lands. The elder races united against this threat as well as the forces of Law, and the kingdoms of: Tumeria, Magrax, Eldenvaan and Hamarsin united under the common banner of Al Alfredo, the king of Eldenvaan. There were individuals whose deeds stand out across history (although their contributions are no doubt much exaggerated); some of these are: Cragspider, Tarkis, the Tien, Carrastinian, Styles, Kaliban Keen-Eye, and Luvara. Mighty magics were unleashed by these stalwarts and the forces of Law. These brave souls and armies triumphed against the Lunar empire and drove it back till the forces reached a stalemate.
The kings of Magrax, Tumeria and Hamarsin swore fealty for themselves and their lands to Al Alfredo who chose the title Invincible Overlord. Al Alfredo chose to make the religions of Resserlin the official religions of his domain much to the chagrin of the patriarchs and matriarchs of Law who felt this honor was due to their religions for the great service done in defeating the Lunar empire. (Some say it is because Al Alfredo feared the forces of Law, but this is clearly false for what does the Invincible Overlord have to fear?)
The Overlord did recognize two groups for their efforts in the war against the Lunar Empire, the White Wanderers and the Balance Cult. The Overlord's spiritual advisor, Mung, was charged with combining the ways of these two organizations into one order combining the best of both. Mung formed the Brotherhood of the Balance. All the old members of the White Wanderers and the Balance Cult were invited to join, but many heresies persisted. From 2450 to 2497 YOL, Mung's hand was forced to conduct many purges to purify the order.
In 2507 YOL, the good king of Tumeria, Tobias the Feckless, died without an heir. (His lack of an heir lead to many jokes about his moniker.) The struggles within Tiola-Moldre were titanic, and many mages and mercenaries were brought in from foreign lands. Much of Tumeria was ravaged, and much territory was lost to external and internal threats. After nearly a decade of internecine strife, the Invincible Overlord sent in his personal troops to seize Tiola-Moldre and stop the fighting which weakened his southern border. The remaining seven dukes agreed to elect a monarch who would serve for five years; although the king had broad, sweeping powers, certain authorities were denied him. For example, the king was not allowed to put another member of the peerage to death or seize his lands without the permission of the Overlord. The Overlord required that there be a provision that the new king must be approved by the Xandurian throne.
The first king of Tumeria under the new scheme was Lord Quival, your liege lord. He served from 2517 to 2521 YOL and did much to restore order to Tumeria. Lord Quival was both fair and firm and earned the great admiration of both his noble peers in Tumeria and in Xanduru. Not all shared in this high regard for Lord Quival; chief amongst his critics was Lord Hadrian. When it came time for the noble houses to chose the next king, they selected Lord Quival to serve another term. It came as quite a surprise when the Overlord intervened and selected Lord Hadrian instead. Still, most agreed the Overlord's rationale was sound. It was the dissolving of a legitimate royal lineage which lead to the wars in Tumeria to begin with. Why start a new dynasty; better to set the precedence that each king serve only one term in succession.
**Current Situation**
Lord Hadrian has not proved to be as effective as Lord Quival was. In fact, recently the caravans traveling from the Timerian empire to the Lands of the Overlord through the Yagha-Tsorv mountains have been attacked, robbed and destroyed without trace. The Overlord has demanded swift action and threatened to remove the head of the responsible nobleman! His majesty, Lord Hadrian was swift to offer a remedy. The king of Tumeria gave a huge land grant to Lord Quival which includes the Gedri pass through the Yagha-Tsorv mountains. The nobles in both Tiola-Moldre and Xanduru complimented Lord Hadrian on his astute choice.
Your liege, Lord Quival, Duke of Kernan, now stands to be either a hero of the Lands of the Overlord or a new falstaff for Al Alfredo. The import of getting his new holdings under control has not been lost on Lord Quival. He's put his knight marshal, Magnild, in charge of organizing groups to scout out the new domain and determine appropriate military strategies.
The knight marshal has chosen members from dependable families to serve in these groups. Your party is one such group. Initially, Lord Quival has asked that the groups have their mettle tested in and around the Duchy of Kernan before being sent south to serve for family and duke! So, you expect to spend some time in the neighborhood of Kernan to show your worth to the knight marshal.
You are very motivated to do your utmost for Lord Quival. First, your personal honor and the honor of your friends and family depend on the success of your endeavors. Second, Lord Quival is offering land grants and titles of nobility for those who perform well. Third, the Duke has authorized the parties to retain large shares of what treasures they recover from outlaw groups. All booty must be displayed to an official of the duchy, but the word is out that these officials are quite lenient in dispensing the goods back to deserving parties. The Duke is not encouraging rape and pillaging however! In fact, attacks on innocents or seizure of legitimate property is punishable by death! A band of twelve adventurers was recently beheaded for just such actions in and around Gedri pass. Fourth, Lord Quival has been both fair and firm, and looking at the way Hadrian and other nobles treat their subjects, you are strongly inspired to ensure Lord Quival does well.
LET THE GAMES BEGIN!!!
RICH
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