Pharanos' Heir - Adult - D&D 3.5
The world of Elunia was a vast peninsula that extended East from a larger continent. 'The Black Continent' as it was called by some, 'The Dark Continent' by others. The black continent was infested with ferocious monsters, a desolate wasteland of swamps and ruins. The war of the gods left the land infertile. At the base of the peninsula the Elves had erected a fortress and walled off the continent to keep the monsters and other unspeakable horrors at bay. No one was permitted to travel beyond the fortress, and it had been that way for nearly 200 years.
Elunia was divided into two large sections that joined at a narrow pass at their centers. Western Elunia was populated mostly by elves, but also had sizable dwarf, gnome, and human populations. Eastern Elunia was populated mostly by humans, but also with gnome, elf, halfling, and kobold cities. Almost a century ago Eastern Elunia had been invaded by orcs from the northern realms of ice. After decades of war the orcs had conquered most of the Northern half of Eastern Elunia, and they were working their way South. Eastern Elunia was divided down the middle by a vast mountain range that branched into three arms across the South. At first the elves were okay with ignoring the conflict. They didn't see it as their problem, and they often didn't get along with humans. However, once the orcs reached the center of the continent they began attacking elven settlements on the edge of their borders. This provoked the elves to join forces with the humans and fight back the orc hordes. The orc advance had only been momentarily delayed however, as both the elves and humans had underestimated the orcs commitment to the invasion. Slowly the human and elf armies were defeated, and their remaining troops forced back in retreat. Elders and world leaders slowly began realising this was an existential threat to the entire continent.
Meanwhile however, many kingdoms were busy in their own petty squabbles. For them the orc invasion was still too far away to be of any real concern. In the South a vast plain stretched from one mountain ridge to the other. Two great kingdoms occupied the plain, Chatham in the North and Brisbane in the South. The mountains surrounding the plain were infested with kobolds who's sprawling cities tunnelled for miles underground. They were a constant plague on the humans in the plain below, and several considerable wars had been fought in centuries past. Presently Chatham and Brisbane were at war with each other. It was no secret the two nations despised each other. Chatham followed the faith of the Melchizedekian priests and outlawed all forms of witchcraft. Brisbane on the other hand openly practised Necromancy and followed the dark gods. Even most kingdoms that openly practised magic and sorcery condemned necromancy.
As the orc invasion threatened to push South, the last kingdom between the orcs and Chatham was Lanstradia. There was much talk of preparations for the coming battle, when the orc hordes would surely besiege the city of Lanstradia. The elves were already committed to sending a sizable force to assist in defending the city, and most of the inhabitants of the region had already begun fleeing South. A long road headed South around the mountains and into Brisbane. It was the safer but much longer road. Another road South East through the mountain pass lead much quicker to Chatham, but it was difficult terrain and infested with kobolds. In addition to protecting travellers on the mountain pass, lords of Chatham were requested of for aid in defending against the orc invasion. It surely concerned all of the lords of Chatham, but it was hard for them to spare troops from the war with Brisbane. Even at this very moment raiding parties from Brisbane were harassing farms, villages, and travellers near the border. It was a turbulent time for the region.
Lord Pharanos of Eldham owned land East of Lanstradia. When the orc threat drew nearer he purchased lands further East, beyond the black fortress of Drakken Frall, in a small mountain town called Meropis. Having already visited his new castle, servants remained there to make the place hospitable by his return. Now back in Eldham, Pharanos was finishing his affairs of state. In the meantime his son and heir would be making the trek to their new home along with many possessions, servants, staff, and guards. Pharanos was an infamous necromancer, and most of his slaves would be along for the journey. So, travelling through Chatham was far too risky. Thus they had to take the much longer road South and along the coast through Brisbane. The Southern road was sparsely populated, and the entire mountain ridge was home to several kobold cities. The war produced many refugees, so the road would be well travelled, but it was not patrolled, and there were no nearby garrisons. It was the ideal climate for bandits, many of which were deserters from Lanstradia. Therefore, Pharanos sought all the security he could find. Appealing to The Adventurer's Guild, and recruiting from any channel he could find, he sent out an offer few could refuse. 250 gold in advance, and another 250 gold upon completion. It was a turbulent time, and money was scarce. Good paying work for adventurers was even harder to come by. Pharanos was wealthy and influential. His reach was both far and wide. What brave adventurers would answer his call?
The world of Elunia is my own original setting that I've been working on for a number of years. This is a test play campaign for level 1 characters, and will probably not go higher than level 3 by the end. Although the setting is low-magic, there are no restrictions on players. You may have to do some social engineering if you go somewhere magic is outlawed or feared, and most people won't even believe in the existence of magic. There aren't really any restrictions on class, race, or alignment. I want to give my players as much freedom as possible, and allow creative character concepts. If you're interested in joining please read all the game threads and don't forget about the game info. More lore will be added to the game threads gradually.
I'm looking for 4 players who can commit to posting at least once a day with a couple days off a week.
This message was last edited by the user at 21:12, Sat 04 Feb 2023.
