Brave New World
I thought I'd recap everything that has been created so far and what we've experienced. I've divided the recap into three sections. The first is on the setting (including the worlds of Terra and Ender), the second on the players characters themselves, and the final section on the campaign (including ongoing adventures and story arcs).
( Setting )
Far Keep Nine, a keep administrated by the Shining Crusade of the Great Kingdom, is situated near the town of Darkness Falls in the realm of the raptorans. The raptorans are a race of bird-like humanoids described in the Races of the Wild. Long suffering under hobgoblin rule, the raptorans want to someday join the Great Kingdom.
The Shining Crusade is an organization that serves the Great Kingdom as a military force as well as a diplomatic and exploratory one. The Shining Crusade only accepts good-aligned members. The Great Kingdom is a collection of five realms, consisting of the five races in the Player's Handbook, banded together for mutual aid and protection.
Right above Far Keep Nine is Darkness Falls, the same falls that give the town its name. Anyone entering the falls stumbles into a large cave and continues on the river through the Portal, a gate to the Plane of Shadow. The river past the Portal leads through the Plane of Shadow and past an entrance to the Sky Shrine. It opens into the ocean in the alternate material world called Ender, a world like Eberron but much more deadly.
Enemies of the Great Kingdom include the Orcish Empire and the Goblinish Empire. And doubtless the warforged of Ender if they ever find their way through the Portal....
( Player Characters )
Here, in some of their own words, are the players and their characters:
( Todd ) is playing Aramis, an azurin soulborn 4.
( Ken ) is playing Ark'iulok Xykok'grok, a darfellan barbarian 3/ranger 1. He is pursuing the leviathan (monster) hunter prestige class.
( Rom ) is playing Charnaset, a catfolk expert 1/litorian 3/scout 1. He quests to become a startouched hunter (prestige class). Charnaset was born the third male of his litter and thus was often overlooked by the Elders as he grew from a kit into a young litorian. From an early age he showed interest in the Elder's tales of the fabled Litorian paragon 'The Startouched Hunter'. This interest would shape the young litorian's life in ways far greater than he could ever imagine.
Patrolling the land of the Pride one night, he spied a faint green aura coming from a nearby densely populated forest. Ignoring his duty, he left his post and entered the forest with hopes of understanding the nature of the aura. Very soon, the litorian was under the enchantment of an unnatural being.
Believing he was conversing with the Startouched Hunter, Charnaset revealed every weakness of his Pride to the being. If not for the intervention of an elf named Skafloc, the litorian would have continued betraying his Pride, eventually dying at the hands of his captor.
Skafloc battled the unnatural creature and eventually won Charnaset's release from the enchantment that bound the litorian. The elf and litorian then made their way out of the forest with the intention of warning the Pride about the probable attack.
Alas, the warning came too late... The Pride had been slaughtered and their carcasses strewn across the open plains with no regard or respect. Deeply filled with grief, the litorian was still bound by the ancient rituals of his people, and he swore a life-debt to the Grey Elf that had saved his life. Thus, the adventures of Skafloc and Charnaset began. Charnaset has found a spiritual brother in Tredis, through the teachings of Solarus.
( Kevin ) is playing Cerebrum, a warforged Circle of Ka 2/psion (telepath) 5. Cerebrum somehow was transported to Terra from Ender. He originally believed that he was sent to save Terra from an upcoming evil.
After recent events he seeks knowledge of why he was sent to Terra. Was it to save Terra where evil forces march today with mighty captains, or Ender where a great evil has already spread throughout the land?
He travels with a diverse group of friends Volkar assembled hoping to forge alliances with all their races. Recently he has joined the Shining Crusade seeing the terrible evil that has spread throughout the realm.
His long-term goal is now in question. Should he assemble an army to destroy the followers of the Lord of the Blades, or should he use the army to crush the forces of darkness on Terra? The only thing he is completely sure of is that he has a great talent for gathering similar thinking people who are dedicated to his cause.
( Marty )is playing Dev, a half-elf druid 7.
( Scott )is playing Skafloc, an elf bard 7. He is the elven ambassador to the raptorans at Far Keep Nine. On reaching adulthood, Skafloc was sent at Volkar's request by the elven council to join the party. He is to chronicle the party's exploits and discoveries (knowing that the party would be important in shaping the course of upcoming events and changes in the region), contribute his skills and abilities to assist the party, and be a representative of/for elven interests.
Skafloc's father Imric, who was a long-time close friend of Volkar and is a member of the elven council, orchestrated his son's placement in the party. He hoped that working with such a class- and race-diverse group would temper Skafloc's elitist, elf-centric attitude toward other races, encourage him to refine his barely existent teamwork skills, and forge strong ties with his up-and-coming companions (realizing that they would eventually rise to prominence in their own circles). All of this in anticipation of Skafloc eventually taking his father's place on the council.
( Phil )is playing Horselord Tredis of the Shining Crusade, human cleric 3/fist of Razkiel 1/paladin 3. He is captain of Far Keep Nine. See his blog: http://fallsdarkness.blogspot.com/
( Will ) is our newest player. His elven ranger/sorcerer died last adventure so he created a halfling sorcerer.
( Campaign )
Volkar, a powerful incarnate/wizard, brought the characters together and trained them. He sent them to the town of Twilight and set them to exploring and defending their world of Ender.
Many adventures have brought the PCs to the town of Darkness Falls (see Phil's blog entry above). The are now captains, ambassadors, and leaders dedicated to protecting Terra from evil forces.
In addition, a powerful hound archon paladin met the PCs in the Sky Shrine as they traveled back to Terra from Ender. He told them that they were the Chosen, the people destined to lead Terra out of darkness and into a new golden age (or die trying, DM).
The current adventure arc involves sealing the undead of the Black Forest away using the elemental binding magic of Ender and helping the raptorans prepare themselves to become the sixth member of the United Kingdom. With an aspect of Tiamat working with the hobgoblins, slavers and aberrations, and the unwanted attention of the warforged of Ender, the Chosen do not have an easy time of it.
( What Comes Next )
The slaver arc should be wrapping up with both a victory and a terrible new evil unleashed. A huge new quest is about to fall into the PCs' laps. And I'm going to get to work on the Goblinish Empire and that aspect of Tiamat.
"It is always darkest before the drow backstab you," (paraphrased sentiments
of Tredis about the drow),
Charlie
