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6.1 Campaign and You
The prelude highlighted a small contingent of elven commandos from the elven city of Fendorn’tal, dipping into the Feywild and stumbling upon a plot of war. Balor is moving an army of mites & fomorians through an open boundary between planes, marching on not only Fendorn’tal, but parts unknown. Why? Well it wasn’t entirely clear- something to do with a dwarf stealing a girl by the help of a unicorn intermixed with the plots and dealings of witches and hags and virtually everything else in that crazy plane of existence. Hopefully some of it was clear but more importantly, hopefully you have more questions to want to play the overall campaign for as long as we can.
The main campaign takes a sharp turn from the exotic forces of the elves within the Everwood to something a bit more traditional -the dwarves and humans of the Greater Baronage. Your characters will be born and raised within the Naar River Valley (or have come to live there in the past), a small province located on the northwestern shores of the isle of Winlet (big main island -check Setting thread for map). Your backstory should reflect your humble beginnings. Furthermore, most* of your characters will have chosen to join the Ehrenguard, the once prestigious dwarven nationalized army now defunct and a mockery of its former self. Your character’s intentions will hopefully be pure but backstory baggage is welcomed. Although dwarves are encouraged, they are not required. A healthy mix of races, backgrounds, and classes will be optimal -just easier for race relations if we have some dwarves in the group.
*I say most of your characters because I want everyone to try and fit themselves into the Ehrenguard. For example if someone wants to play an elf from Fendorn’tal, having this elf travel many hundreds of miles to simple live in Kalsgrad to join the city guard wouldn’t really make much sense. He could be some kind of diplomatic envoy instead but I would have to think about how to plug you into the first adventure. Same thing with members of the church, nobility, etc- As long as you are aware that your characters will be forced into the Ehrenguard in some capacity, we should be okay.
Ehrenguard Chain of Command
One of you will be promoted to
Bandsmen -leader of the entire
Band (your 7 dwarf/wodwarf Ehrenguard group). The second in command is known as a
Lancer. The Bandsmen position is one of an officer type while the Lancer is not. Now, we’ve been playing together for a year and a couple months so I don’t think anyone will have a problem if someone is elevated into this ‘leader’ position. They of course dont speak for the entire group but in character they do. Especially when war breaks out. I encourage anyone who wants the position to make it known so we can all work it out in game. If multiple people want to be bandsmen, that could be interesting as hell…
Keep in mind, the clear progression of this campaign means the person who becomes Bandsmen will most likely continue to elevate themselves within the Ehrenguard until he/she is possible elected Battlemen/Battlemaiden themselves! This means mass combat and everything else. Strategic minds are welcomed- It should be fun.
There will be an Ehrenguard thread explaining all the intricate details to help with this decision.
What to Expect
Act I features a healthy mix of roleplaying and combat. You will be a police force to the city of Kalsgrad and much of Act I takes the flavor of investigation and piecing together clues. There are what I call ‘spot dungeons’ within the city but most of the combat you encounter will be miniature encounters within the city itself. All of this culminates at the end of Act I.
The prelude was very much railroady- this will be the opposite. You will be free to investigate and act as you see fit. Splitting the party is welcomed. This is a very difficult Act for me to conceptualize (I am still hung up on many of the issues) but hopefully everything irons itself out over the course of the game. Act II turns more into a military campaign and all subsequent Acts get more lethal and wild as the game continues.
6.2 Building of the Character
Starting level: 1 halfway to level 2
Material: Most (if not ALL) of the published material is available. As long as you’re okay with tweaking lore to fit the setting, we should be okay. I think most of the UA stuff was added into
Volo’s and
Xanathar’s Guide so be sure to read over some of those classes for ideas.
ALSO, there is a TON of homebrewed content that I would love to try. Ill try and come up with a list here but please visit various 3rd party sites and find something that you think would fit. I will work with everyone on an individual basis to come up with things- just start with a concept and we can find something.
Race (no tiefling, orcs, dragonborn - yes aasimars, half-ogre,)
Tiefling, orc blood, and dragonborns exist in my world but are from parts unknown. Aasimars are the
Volos version-. Half-ogres are inspired and borrow heavily from orcs and giants but have a different flavor about them. Other options are available on request but might need to be modified for the setting. Fey for example. A hagling maybe. Nothing too exotic -think fey, giant, and traditional. Note: It will be damn near impossible to explain why some of these races are in the dwarven Ehrenguard, so come with your creative juices flowing.
Classes: When reviewing homebrewed content make sure it thematically fits. I think most importantly, your background does not define your class (or vice versa). For example, there can be barbarian knights or warlock Celestians. I will usually have homebrewed recommendations to fit your theme. Keep in mind the Ehrenguard will force you into certain cliches but that is in now way what your class may be.
Ability Scores: standard array
Hit Dice: same old- can take the average or roll upon leveling
Starting Lootz: You may want to hold off on weapons and armor until I can decide how I want to do the Ehrenguard stuff. You will be awarded a couple proficiencies and free starter equipment gifted from the guard itself. Everything you purchase will be available to you as you get a personal UNLOCKED trunk in Steinholm. Also, if some of you elect to have relatives within the city, you may also have equipment there.
Backgrounds: Any of the core backgrounds will fit as well as other from other supplements. These backgrounds will reflect what your character did prior to joining the Ehrenguard. I may tweak what you get boon wise on a case by case basis. Also, I added a City Watch background for anyone who is interested in being a career guardsmen -this is modified from the City Watch available in the
Sword Coast book.
6.3 Races
Dwarves -All of the lore remains the same (for the most part). Your dwarf (no matter the bloodline) are a Hill dwarf and less ‘in the mountain’ dwarf (well they were once in the mountain but it’s been many generations). The subraces are modified. Your NAAR DWARF have your stereotypical coloring. ABEL DWARVES have a variety of hairs but Blonde is more prevalent. And the eyes, an Abel Dwarf has blue eyes. It’s a rare bloodline and they like to keep it that way. They are pompous and insular on top of already being insular dwarves. Subraces are as followed-
NAAR DWARF
Ability Score Increase. Your Wisdom & Strength score increases by 1.
Dwarven Toughness. Your hit point maximum increases by 1, and it increases by 1 every time you gain a level
ABEL DWARF
Ability Score Increase. Your Charisma score increases by 1.
Enlightened Talker: You gain proficiency in any CHA based skill
ArtisanGain proficiency with one set of tools
Elf -No high elves, only wood. All elves will have originated from Fendorn’tal and their bloodline is NOT seperated enough to justify two subraces. There is very little non Fendorn elves in the kingdoms. High elves of my world exist elsewhere.
GNOME -tinkerer is a bit odd to me since my gnomes are more fey than anything else but I guess I could allow it if someone is good at convincing me. My gnomes tend to be whimsical (like Layla). They also have a propensity to WANT to be close to the Feywild and sense where the boundaries are thin. They are the most FEY of the races and that can be important in this AP.
HALFLINGS -I will use the word hobbits interchangeably. The halflings dwell in borrow homes (ala LotR) and keep within their various family units. Dwarves like them well enough, (more than humans) and they are quite respectable in society.
HUMANS -the humans are your typical English stereotype, red to brown hairs, pale skin. Foreigners CAN be available but it would be a really odd, circumstance that we would need to work on together.
Half-elves -More or less as canon. They are rarer due to how reclusive Fendorn’tal is and are a bit of an anomaly.
Celestian Touched / Aasimar -I like Volo’s aasimar more-so than the DMG aasimar. Here on the islands, ALL aasimars are touched in some way by the Celestian faith. What the means is they don’t necessarily have to be a part of the clergy but somehow Ibera left her stamp on your soul. ALSO you can pick your parents. You can be a halfling aasimar and we will just go ahead and change your size to match the halfling. Maybe even consider a racial trait from your parent. Small change to the cantrip you are awarded-
Guidance. You know the guidance cantrip. Charisma is your spellcasting ability for it.
[7]
Half-Ogre -with the removal of orcs, I wanted that dangerous, martial race to be filled by something equally fearsome. Thus, the half-ogre fills the niche. It is actually a bit more powerful than the half-orc but is by far less accepted within society Half-ogres stem from the unfortunate copulation between humans and ogres. Play this race within this campaign will be difficult due to the amount of hatred you will have to contend with. I look forward to anyone up for the task.
[4]
Ability Score Con 2, STR 2
Age 23-90 Size -medium [-1]Speed 20 Languages -common,
[.5]Darkvision -60
[1.5]
Brutal Assault = 1 You may use this trait to turn any one attack that hits into a critical hit. You may use this trait normally once per long rest, but additional uses after that immediately incur one level of exhaustion.
[1]Brute force. Your hands are extraordinarily large and can be used as a weapon. Your base Unarmed Strike does 1d4+STR. Any feats or class abilities that grant you a dice roll (monk, tavern brawler) the dice roll increases by one step.
[1]
Powerful Build. You count as one size larger when determining your carrying capacity and the weight you can push, drag, or lift.
6.4 Classes
Work in Progress. I want to include a bunch of homebrewed stuff here but don't really have much to offer. Nothing to see! Move along!
6.5 Backgrounds
EHRENGUARDSMEN (ripped from the Sword Coast book)
You are a career Ehrenguardsmen. You have served the community where you grew up, standing as its first line of defense against crime. You aren't a soldier, directing your gaze outward at possible enemies. Instead, your service to your hometown was to help police its populace, protecting the citizenry from lawbreakers and malefactors of every stripe.
Skill Proficiencies: Athletics, Insight
Languages: Two of your choice
Equipment: A uniform in the style of your unit and indicative of your rank, a horn with which to summon help, a set of manacles, and a pouch containing 10 gp
FEATURE:
WATCHER'S EYE
Your experience in enforcing the law, and dealing with lawbreakers, gives you a feel for local laws and criminals. You can easily find the local outpost of the watch or a similar organization, and just as easily pick out the dens of criminal activity in a community, although you're more likely to be welcome in the former locations rather than the latter.
VARIANT:
INVESTIGATOR
Rarer than watch or patrol members are a community's investigators, who are responsible for solving crimes after the fact. Though such folk are seldom found in rural areas, nearly every settlement of decent size has at least one or two watch members who have the skill to investigate crime scenes and track down criminals. If your prior experience is as an investigator, you have proficiency in Investigation rather than Athletics.
SUGGESTED CHARACTERISTICS
Your bond is likely associated with your fellow watch members or the watch organization itself and almost certainly concerns your community. Your ideal probably involves the fostering of peace and safety. An investigator is likely to have an ideal connected to achieving justice by successfully solving crimes.
Galdrmann
Skill Proficiencies: History, Investigation
Tool Proficiencies: One type of artisan's tools from: calligrapher's tools, mason's tools, smith's tools
Languages: Giant or one of your choice if you already speak Giant
Equipment: A set of artisan’s tools with which you are proficient, a runic device
indicating membership in the Galdrmann, a set of traveler’s clothes, and a pouch containing
5 gp and a gem worth 10 gp
Suggested Characteristics: choose as appropriate from either the Clan Crafter/Guild Artisan or Cloistered Scholar lists of traits, ideals, bonds, & flaws.
Feature: Galdrmann’s Shelter
As a member of the Galdrmann, you can count on your guildmates to provide shelter and aid. You and your companions can find a place to hide or rest in any Galdrmann enclave, unless you have proven to be a danger to them. The members of the enclave will shield you from the law or anyone else searching for you, especially the Celestian church, though they will not risk their lives in this effort.
This message was last edited by the GM at 14:24, Fri 13 Dec 2019.