I am currently detailing a D&D Next world for use by a party of 9th level adventurers. I will present the world and an adventure path to go with it starting this month.

World of Riv

The portion of the world of Riv that is going to be used for this campaign is the Haunted Lands in the West and the Ruined Kingdoms of the Utter East. Both areas have been devastated by a curse that has turned verdant fields to dust and choked living oceans to silt choked quicksand. The gods are hard to find and many a divine caster has been driven to madness whether from despair or tortured dreams and corrupted energies flowing from deity to follower.

For me, Riv started out simply as a 1st level adventure using the playtest rules from August 2012. The parts I plan to cover concern an area suitable for mid to high level play starting at 9th level.

Game Books and Player Characters

I am using the last playtest version rules for D&D Next most of which are included with the PDF of Dreams of the Red Wizards: Scourge of the Sword Coast. I am also using the maps from Al-Qadim: Ruined Kingdoms which goes for around $35 on Amazon. While I am using the maps, the world of Riv shares little else in common with Al-Qadim other than deserts. I will note other books that I find helpful as we go along.

If you have existing characters you can simply transport them to Riv or convince them to journey there. If you want to start a new campaign, PCs in this adventure path start at 9th level. The setting is mostly desert and kicks off on the frontier of a fallen empire. PCs will have the chance to unravel the machinations of several powerful factions and eventually undo the curse afflicting their lands if they choose to do so.

History for New PCs

If you create 9th level characters to use with this adventure path, you may want some details of their past. Here is the intro I gave to my players at 1st level. I have also included a handful of new backgrounds to use since the D&D Next ones do not fit the setting for natives of Riv. I will include more of the backgrounds next month. The Ezekiel territory is found on the large scale map in the League of the Pantheon between the cities of Hilm and Talab.

In your desolate world in which the gods answer with barely a whisper or not all, the fallen Republic of Amperia left behind two legacies. Ancient ruins stuffed with the tribute of colonies now left to founder and the Color Caste system. Everyone is supposed to have a caste, a role to play, and a color that can be worn to represent their place in society. Those touched by death, however, are driven from the caste system becoming the Driven.

The Driven have no color. Many Driven paint their faces with ash before entering a village to indicate that they are gray—without caste. Some Driven do this in shame and others do so out of a fierce, independent pride.

The village of Hatchet sits on the edge of Ezekiel Territory, a worn and dusty extension of a republic that no longer exists. To the east lies untamed territory, including a canyon of hoodoos rumored to hold lost treasure of the Republic and even a handful of skyisles untethered from the earth by ancient power run amok. The Speaker of Hatchet, Red Darmont, does not exploit those opportunities.

Under the ill-given advice of his counselor, Bronze Sorsoo, Darmont has angered the Reds of two neighboring villages, Totem and Preacher's Corner. As trade dies so too does Hatchet falter.

Even worse, trappers and hunters of the Green warn that the ruins of Jerusalem's Lot to the north are becoming dangerous. Something has taken up residence there and is slowly reaching out to take those who live or wander too close.

The final calamity is that a plague of undead has broken out in a village to the east. Undead plague is almost always blamed on the Driven (dead calls to undead). If it spreads, any Driven in villages will be in danger from the very people they try to help. The lost village lies just beyond the village of Totem, one of the villages angry with Hatchet. The Red of Totem is rumored to be a druid.

Into the dilapidated and worn village of Hatchet you stride. Shaking off the dust of your journey, you and your fellow Driven have literally reached the end of the road. If you can't make a life in Hatchet, you have nowhere else to go except out into the wastes. If you save Hatchet, opportunities will open in other villages and perhaps even in the rumored larger settlements out west.

Whether you want to rejoin the caste system or proudly stay colorless, your future and your survival are firmly in the hands of you and your fellow Driven.

Backgrounds

Back from the Dead
Everyone says you died. You see the other side when you aren't trying to see it. Your mind seems to wander to faraway places, as if your soul in no longer strongly tethered to your mortal frame.
Trait—Medium: You have a spirit who on occasion communicates with other spirits for you. You can gain some information in return for doing a service only the living can do—talk to a spirit's relatives, find a spirit's bones, bring a spirit's murderer to justice etc.
Skills: Insight, Religion, Search
Tools: gaming set, navigator's tools
Languages: Celestial

Buried Alive
You woke up in darkness. Wood above and below you. Panic, claustrophobia, paralyzing fear. Your frantic pounding shattered the roof of the sinkhole below you. The drop shattered your coffin, freeing you. You crawled out of your grave. Your village drove you out. You aren't sure if you are alive or dead anymore. But underground places both fascinate and sicken you.
Trait—Known Spelunker: Cavers recognize you and respect your skills. You can normally get local assistance anytime you are in a settlement near natural caves. A guide, borrowing a climber's kit, or even short-time lodging might be offered. Truly adventurous spelunkers may even offer to go caving with you although your intensity keeps most away.
Skills: Athletics, Intimidation, Survival
Tools: climber's kit, healer's kit
Languages: Dwarvish

Cursed
That old woman was ugly. When she tried to beg a coin from you, you pushed past her. She forked the upside down horns at you and mumbled a curse in that weird hoodoo chant the gris gris doctors swear is magical. You haven't felt right ever since, although you are damned if you can pinpoint exactly what it is that is wrong….
Trait—Sign of the Horns: you can find answers and sometimes even shelter among witchdoctors, gris gris seers, hoodoo priests, and other weird and likely dangerous fringe practitioners of forbidden religions. There is always a cost of course....
Skills: Animal Handling, Persuasion, Sleight of Hand
Tools: gaming set, horse
Languages: one uncommon language of your choice

Demon Bargain
You needed something: love, a loved one back from the dead, gold, glory, or success. You made a bargain. With something evil and otherworldly. The deal went bad. You believe you wiggled out of the bargain although you didn't get what you needed. But you always feel as if something dark and monstrous is breathing down your neck, seen in the corner of your eye, or just behind those shadows or down those dark stairs.
Trait—Crossroads: If you ever need something, really need something, you know how to call up a crossroads demon and ask. You really hope you never really need something. In addition, cultists are willing to talk to you, if you make the attempt, before they try to sacrifice you to their dark gods and demon lords. Talk fast.
Skills: Deception, Persuasion, Stealth
Tools: disguise kit, gaming set
Languages: Abyssal or Infernal

Haunted The house was yours for a very small price. Whether you lived alone or had family, you are alone now. Something walked in the halls of that house, something angry and cruel. You had a soothsayer do a reading to try to talk to the spirit. The soothsayer died. The spirit then hurt you and killed everyone else around you. Eventually, you ran. You've been running ever since.
Trait—Looking for Answers: When you attempt to learn or recall a piece of lore, if you do not know that information, you often know where and from whom you can obtain it. Usually, this information comes from a library, scriptorium, university, or a sage or other learned person or creature. Your DM might rule that the knowledge you seek is secreted away in an almost inaccessible place, or that it simply cannot be found. Unearthing the deepest secrets of the universe can require an adventure or even a whole campaign.
Skills: Arcana, Athletics, History
Tools: artisan's tools (carpentry)
Languages: any two of your choice

Upcoming Columns

Descriptions of the West and the Utter East. More backgrounds. Details on a 9th level adventure to kick off the adventure path.

Drive on,
Charlie