Starting with this edition of Brave New World is a complete campaign setting in one column. Each month I’ll add more chapters until an entire Tome of Battle campaign setting is ready for use. When I have space I’ll also add a recap of actual play in the Land of Nine Swords.

Front Cover

The Land of Nine Swords Campaign Setting
A Complete Campaign Setting in One Column
By Charles Dunwoody

Cover art: two martial adepts fighting each other as envisioned by Todd Lockwood.

Back Cover Text

Arm yourself with the SRD and Tome of Battle! March out to do battle with the evil zern of the Deluge Jungle or rebuild the Temple of the Nine Swords in the Sunspire Mountains.

The Land of Nine Swords Campaign Setting is a complete campaign setting in one column. Designed to be used with the SRD rules and Tome of Battle, this campaign emphasizes heroic action, swordplay, and high fantasy adventure.

Each month a new chapter or two will be added until the entire campaign is available for use.

Table of Contents of the Land of Nine Swords Campaign Setting

1. The Sublime Way
2. Introduction
3. House Rules
   • Rulebooks
   • House Rules
4. Additional Races
   • Aasimar
   • Centaurs
   • Wild Elves
   • Hobgoblin
   • Eyepopper Hobgoblins
   • Shrunken Head Hobgoblins
   • Patoren
     • Hunter
     • Priest
     • Warrior
     • Way of the Dragon
     • Painkill
     • Race Relations
   • Tiefling
5. New Base Classes and Prestige Classes
   • Paladin of Fier
   • Paladin of Perd
   • Beguiler
   • Dragon Shaman
   • Duskblade
   • Knight
   • Martial Ranger
   • Prestige Classes
6. Six: New Feats and New Weapon
   • Feats
   • Weapon
7. New Domains and Spells
   • New Domains
   • New Spells
8. The Nine Disciplines
9. Calendar
10. History
    • Early Mythology (1 to 2000 After Dawning)
    • Ancient History (2001 to 3000 AD)
    • Dragonfall Wars (3001 to 4000 AD)
    • The Dark Years (4001-4700 AD)
    • The Temple of the Nine Swords (see Tome of Battle for more)
    • Age of Nine Swords (5001 AD on)
11. Gods of the Land of Nine Swords
    • The Major Gods
    • A Minor God
    • Divine Casters
12. World and Cosmology
    • Luna, the moon
    • The Martial Adept constellation
    • The Captain constellation
    • The Diplomat constellation
    • Ehlonna, the green planet
    • Kravell, the blue planet
    • The North Star
    • Northern Lights
    • Pel, the sun
    • Telchur, the white planet
13. Ironhame, Town of Naramis
    • Deluge Ward
14. The Deluge Jungle
15. Frostfell, Land of Steam and Snow
16. The Brass Desert

One: The Sublime Way

Honor
Courage
Loyalty
Patience
Education
Self-control

The journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step.
-Step One of the Sublime Way.

You gotta crawl if you wanna walk.
-Step One of the Sublime Way as interpreted by those living in the Deluge Ward of Ironhame.

Drive on.
-The Remaining Steps of the Sublime Way.

Two: Introduction

Only you can decide if you want to quest for the Nine Swords and save the world.

The mythology and backdrop for the Land of Nine Swords can be found in the Tome of Battle: the Book of Nine Swords. The Hero Builder’s Guidebook and the Player’s Handbook II have lots more general roleplaying ideas as well.

At its core, the Nine Swords Campaign is the story of a band of larger-than-life, mighty heroes. You aren’t gardeners or swineherds. You’re heroes! You have the potential to fight better than anyone else, to be the most charismatic and diplomatic, and to possess the strongest grasp and control of magic of anyone in the world.

You may choose simply to loot and level. Or you may pursue the greatest legend of the world: seeking out the lost Nine Swords and return them to the Temple of the Nine Swords in the Sunspire Mountains. It is said that when the Nine Swords are restored to the Temple, then the Swordmaster will return from his wandering and harmony will be returned to the world.

It is a time of great conflict and turmoil. You could usher in a new Golden Age for the world. You may be the Swordmaster himself. Only by taking the first step on the road of the Sublime Way will you finally be on the journey to discovering your final destiny.

Three: House Rules

Rulebooks:

Dungeon Master’s Guide (for magic item creation)
Hero Builder’s Guidebook (not required: roleplaying ideas)
Monster Manual (for centaurs and controlled monsters)
Monster Manual IV (zern, can be replaced by the aboleth in the SRD)
Player’s Handbook Players Handbook II (the patorens can be changed so this book is not required)

Chapters 1-2

Chapter 3 (General, Ceremony, Combat, Metamagic, and Tactical)

Chapters 4-5

Chapter 6 (Party Backgrounds and Building the Party).

Tome of Battle (all).

House Rules:

• New PCs: see adventure history for starting XP and gear.
• Ability scores: 32-point ability score build.
• Hit points: fixed hit points from the Dungeon Master’s Guide.
• Number of skill points per level increases by 50%.
• Turn undead becomes destroy undead from Complete Divine (optional).
• Gods in the Player’s Handbook are replaced. See Chapter Ten.
• Caster level cannot exceed character level by more than 2.
• Metamagic that increases spell level cannot be reduced to less than 1 level.

If you need to add some new roleplaying background to the world, if you seek a particular one of the Nine Swords, or if you need other rules, whether a new race or class or a feat or spell, let the DM know.

Playtesting: The Current Campaign

On 04/13/07 the adventure started on Windsday, Day 18, 5007 AD and lasted three days. Adventuring were 2nd and 3rd level PCs. All PCs advanced to 3rd level. They continued to explore the Barrow of the Sword Unfettered hoping the sword would be found.

The original patoren was based on the catfolk from Races of the Wild. The race didn’t fit well and the +1 level adjustment really hurt so I recreated the races as a Tome of Battle species with a +0 LA.

Current Campaign Adventure History Recap

Thraxus reached into the bloody water. His black hair covered body was soaked with blood and water. His muzzle was pulled back displaying his large canines in a snarl of rage and irritation. His fiery Desert Wind maneuvers had been useless underwater and nearly so the rest of the day. Kord had not blessed him with battle luck this day.

Gripping Thraxus’s hand, Valgard staggered out of the water trapped cave, soaking wet and bleeding. He fell to hands and knees, retching. Hundreds of tiny leeches clung to him. A massive leech, the size of a small dog, was fastened to one leg, fat with blood.

He jabbed at the huge leech and blood jetted. It didn’t detach though. Valgard retched again.

Tallyn stood back, bow ready and arrow drawn. The lightly armed ranger had avoided the worst of the leech trap but he was still soaked. He didn’t want to shoot and risk hitting Valgard. Or breaking his bowstring.

Thadius strode past Tallyn, greatsword held overhead. “Down and away!” the Tallyn yelled out to the crusader of Kord. Tallyn had been on the receiving end of Thadius’s grapple-solution himself earlier in the day.

With a powerful, well exacted strike, Thadius shattered the leech which burst like a blood-filled waterskin. Gore spattered even Tallyn, who stood ten feet back.

Gripping the holy symbol of Boccob, a little known god of magic and indifference, Bones stepped forward to help the nauseated Valgard. As he gathered positive energy he muttered, “I hate f---ing leeches.”

Next Month

More chapters follow. And a map of the Land of Nine Swords.

Drive On (The Remaining Steps of the Sublime Way),
Charlie