I began a 4e campaign 9 months ago. I had some very vague ideas on plot and direction, so decided to start it off as a sandbox. My previous campaign, in comparison, had a very central BBEG and a clear-cut goal from very early on in the campaign. This goal of stopping the bad guy took them from level 1 - 18 (3.5e). I thought I would change it up and go completely free of that so as not to be repetitive (as well as to test my abilities).

For the first fifteen sessions or so, it went well, and the group was thrilled with the variation and the unexpectedness. Then players began hinting at feelings of aimlessness, of wandering without any real drive or goal. I began to worry.

To get a little more in depth, each player is a child or ward of the now-epic characters from last campaign. They'd been kidnapped by an evil circus for an unknown reason (suspected political) and were trying to get back home, constantly ending up in deadly situations and deadly places. Yet there wasn't something to really rally behind. Many of the players were the same from my last campaign and I couldn't help feeling they missed the central drive of a BBEG.

At that point I had to make a choice. I had introduced an unmanagable number of factions and plot strings, enough to focus several campaign arcs on, but they all lacked interconnections or larger value to the characters. So I went about the next seventeen sessions establishing artifacts called Hearts, each corresponding to one of my nine planes, which began linking boss enemies and three major factions for the power they promised.

Players came and went, and by Session 34 I'd lost three of my old players and gained three new ones (for a total of six). All are very interested in the game right now and express joy and interest, but I want to make sure that continues. I admit I've felt some anxiety during these nine months working to reshape the plots and the campaign to both fit the characters and their expectations.

My larger designs for the game's plot have change considerably throughout, though much of these changes are behind the scenes. Because of all this campaign evolution, I haven't revealed enough of a central plot. They've only been living and playing in the world, actually defining their own sort of theme in the way of group and friends as family, and the value of trust and love of one another. That has really impressed me, but I think they also want some more direction from me.

I feel the time has come for me to finally begin revealing aspects of the plot that will last into epic tier (thinking that I probably should have done this sooner, but only just today did I figure out something that made sense with all our sandbox exposition and allowed for multiple cool and character-testing moments).

The campaign is the most character-driven and rp heavy I have ever been involved in, a deep, dramatic game that offers me as much pride and grief. Especially having gotten six players who I think are in it for the long haul, I'm beginning to feel comfortable and confident in my choices as DM. Time to make the finer strokes, the definitive moves and clarify the campaign story at last.

I suppose I'm writing this now mostly to get my thoughts out and down somewhere, but also to highlight my personal struggles, joys, revelations and failings.

I'm trying to draw out what I've learned from my campaign thus far, and I think that will come in subsequent posts. I think I should lay down some profound statement, though... if I can muster one...

I am a better DM for having tried to work outside the normal BBEG campaign, to juggle six people in a homebrew world, to cultivate a game where character is the most important element, and create a story more elegant than my last and perhaps beyond my current ability to implement.

I applaud all homebrew DMs going through the every session struggles and the larger trials and tribulations of constructing something as close to professional as possible, something people play every week with great joy and which generates for them something to look forward to in the week. Call me corny, but that is a noble pursuit.

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The Kingdom

The greatest political power on the continent of Othyr, comprised mainly of the regal human race of Nors, is actually a nation descended from slaves. In the Age of Autumn in the Second Cycle, elves turned from mentors to masters, deciding humans were a hopeless cause and that only through subjugation would they find their place. For centuries the oppression of the Sylvan Reign lasted, even as the elves selectively bred their pets and servants to form a statuesque race of nearly perfect humans. In there eugenics a dangerous line was crossed, for they inadvertently created the sum of all men, Nor, who rose against his elven masters to unite the human slave race and bring down the elven empire.

Nor founded his own Kingdom, fashioned on the principles of strength by unification and trust and honor among men. The great capital of Norfeld was built upon the ruins of the elven capital of Glorian and there Nor ruled for sixty-three golden years.

When his mortal coil was nearly spent, he ascended into the timeless halls of Valoria to act as divine patriarch.

The Nors, also called Heartlanders and Citizens, continued their quest for prosperity and unity, rising to dominance amidst a sea of city-states and fragmented tribes. And all of it was done without the use of magic, for the arcane arts of their old masters were banned in favor of accomplishment through grit, divine zeal, intelligence, ingenuity and passion. The high and mighty race of elves were made low, they themselves turned to slaves, and other non-humans shunned. Of the violent and warlike dark races, such as goblins and orcs, who tested and defied man, a quick example was made. A grand genocide sent all lingering non-humans fleeing, known as The Purge.

It wasn’t long after this extermination that The Kingdom decided it was best to assimilate all the cultures of humanity so as to preserve the colorful tapestry of human existence and enrich the empire’s own. This agenda grew into a driving force in Nors mentality, the need to unite all men, willing or unwilling. Their ultimate goal became the creation of a Utopian society combining
all human cultures and populated by a master race containing all the bloodlines of men.


Time Line

Birth of Nor, 0 KR, Beginning of the 3rd Cycle.
The first day of the Kingdom Calendar marks the birth of the slave boy Nor, who would become the legendary revolutionary and god king who led the slave race of men to victory over their elven overlords.

The Long Night, 16 KR.
Just 16, Nor broke free of the magic binding which kept his slave shelf locked in order to save his love Rubina from the hands of the lustful elf lord Moondasl. Nor’s shelf mates spread across Fortress Sunaul, killing the elves as they slept. Nor himself confronted the lord in single combat, suicide for a normal boy, or even a gladiator grown, but in his moment of need true divinity shined and he overcame the lord and his arcana to save the woman that would become his wife and empress.

Setting of the Elves, 36 KR.
Long battles were fought across 20 years, the liberated fortresses and gladiator
pits of man against the arcane towers of elves. Grit and determination, pain and sacrifice, humanity slowly overcame their masters. Nor spearheaded the uprisings, present at every battle, his growing godhood countering whatever strange and deadly magic the elves conjured. Finally, at the Battle of Glorian, the last of the elf kings, Gloriandel, was slain in an epic duel with Nor that would forever more be legend and holy verse for the Nors people.

The Kingdom Founded, 37 KR.
Within the year, the free men of the Heartlands joined together to form a new nation, one free of magic and fighting pits, one built by men and for men. Elves were cast down as slaves and all other races, who had stood idly by as man was enslaved, cast out. Nor was risen as God King and Rubina
Empress to guide the people.

Norfeld Built on the Ruins of Glorian, 40 KR.
On the shattered elven capital, Kingdomers decided to construct their own. For decades men sweat and toiled, as did their elven slaves, to build the grand city stone by stone, great citadels and sprawling guild districts and arching bridges soaring like rainbows.

Nor’s Ascension, 100 KR.
After 63 years as resplendent ruler of the Kingdom, now a thriving city-state with high and hopeful plans for the future, Nor dove into the gray glooms of the netherworld and collected his great love’s soul. Together they rose to Valoria, Nor’s chosen plane, where he would reign for all time as eternal liberator, founder, father and spirit of the Kingdom.

The Forts Completed, 212 KR.
The Kingdom was far from an idyllic field, for many dark and war-hungry races lurked in the Black Forest and the Dormud Mountains. After generations of skirmishes, invasions and all out wars, the reigning King Ksiad ordered the construction of an ambitious ring of forts, completed after almost seventy years of harrowed construction. With forts came roads, troops, defensible outposts, security in the region. The dark races were driven back.

The Purge, 256 KR.
With the spurned dark races massing for a great joint invasion, the Kingdom counterattacked, and in a frightening blitz managed to nearly wipe the world clean of the dark races of orcs, goblins, ogres and other foul brood. Those survivors fled to the east, the south and the north. Their lot was to be hunted in the Heartland and the growing realm of the empire from then on.

West War I, 314 KR.
There came an epiphany to King Sigula, fostered by a growing sentiment that the Kingdom was losing its purpose in the face of such boundless prosperity. The Kingdom must share their boons with other cultures of men, spread the word of Nor, and seek the unification of all human civilizations. Only then could man truly prosper. Thus the first West War was initiatived, so it was said, to liberate the growing coastal power of Pricilli from its dangerous neighbors, which included the drow, the vampires, the dwarves of Citadel, the mad priests of the temple-city Tho-Siggot, and perhaps most troublesome of all the only surviving remnant of old elven power on the plateaus of Meresoa. An unwelcomed army attempted to pass through the Ultus Mountains at its only navigable point, the Citadel, to rescue a kingdom that did not want their help from races whom they lived in peace with up until this point. The result was quite the opposite of Kingdom aspirations, the forming of a Western Alliance to jointly force the Kingdom out of their lands. After only a year, the ill-prepared army was forced to retreat, having never guessed their enemies would be so varied or powerful.

Suoul Falls, 426 KR.
Not all were so resilient as the West, and when the Kingdom came with an army demanding the ancient Suoul civilization join their empire, the jungle people could hardly resist. Though many fought bravely to ensure their people’s autonomy, even practicing blood sacrifices to demons and dark fey, nothing could prevent the imperial army from colonizing. In the process, they killed or drove off many of the dark races who’d spent the last two hundred years or so rebuilding their numbers. Goblins fled further south, only to be enslaved by the eager Azerbadians, and the orc were forced north, eventually conquering the kobold city of Ikactyl and renaming it Mongrel.

Dameron Founded, 439.
In a new strategy to win the West, the Kingdom sent out surveyors, prospectors and eager pioneers to tame what was dubbed a “frontier”, in actuality a relatively small, unclaimed series of islands and marshes along the major western waters. Almost overnight, Kingdomers were building barge homes, bridges and raftways. Though challenged by trolls, snakemen and even the thieving priests of Thosiggot looking for sacrifices and attendants, a foothold was formed, Dameron, fastest growing city in the whole of the empire, much to the West’s dismay.

West War II, 620 KR.
Dameron had grown into a veritable City of Bridges, Kingdomers having once again beaten back the darkness and found prosperity. As Dameron began to expand its naval influence in the western
waters, a small skirmish with drow dhows off the shores of the Mabland ignited a conflict which quickly drew every political power in the region into a ten-year war. The Kingdom was better prepared, having a base within the west and ample gold and gems from the abundant Suoul lands, fronting many thousands of seasoned troops, seige weapons, ships and exotic Suoul regiments enough to push the west to the brink of defeat. They’d even cowed the Vampires by supplying thousands of unwitting colonists to settle the Saspien Vale like a human garden. It was only when the Mab, sorceress-queen of the drow, used the Damning to unleash the armies of Hell against Kingdom invaders, defeating them and at once consuming her soul to an eternal torment. Dameron was left a depressed shadow of its former self, barely keeping afloat. Old evils of the swamp began creeping back to their homeland, but instead of being shunned the Damerons welcomed them, seeking aid and guidance. The city twisted into something much darker than before.

The East Falls, 636 KR.
After a crushing defeat in the west, the demoralized Kingdom was nearly bankrupt.
They launched another campaign, desperate for food and resources, things needed to simply keep the empire running. The last of their surviving armies were sent into the dense forests and lush coasts, taking from the ample, lush Umbalaa. They found a deeply spiritual people there, entrenched in animal and ghost worship, who saw the pale invaders as emissaries of Chad’nos, Bringer of the 4th World. They believed the Kingdom had come to better their lives and create a heaven on earth, as did the Kingdomers, but what resulted was a quick and brutal stripping of gold, jewels, lumber and game. Colonial outposts were established at key points and the Umbala people forced to join reeducation programs sponsored by the Church of Nor in order to bring them fully under the imperial wing. There was resistance, of course, by ferocious beast totem warriors and forbidding witchdoctors, but it all came too late. They were forced into the darkest depths of the Umbalat whilst the empire slowly consumed their ancestral lands. Resistance would later come from the upriver country of Jiwar, the land of Um kings, led by the infamous Wolf of Jiwar. However even these added harrowings did little to impede the Kingdom.

Veluvia Founded, 799 KR.
The empire, once again on solid political, social and economic footing, saught to expand their influence into the next logical realm, the overland of Myaton. However, the treacherous peaks and mysterious Veil prevented any sort of effective military pressure. Raptoran flocks native to the region were also steeped in too many unknown factors, having always been a rarely-seen and even more rarely-heard race. The Kingdom decided the wisest course of reconnaissance and political footholding would be to establish a colony not in the Overland, knowing they could never be as blatant as they had been in Dameron again, but instead a settlement in the far, unclaimed north. They build a road, The High Road, beginning in Norfeld itself and winding up into Myaton, along the treacherous Veil and the many mountain passes, and into the barren tundra of the Roam. The Kingdom sent young regiments eager to make their fortune off the “Jewel of the North” and took with them whatever colonists willing to go with them. So few answered the call, despite the heavy propaganda, that the Kingdom offered an endured servitude for lower criminals, which ended up comprising nearly half the population. Many other kinds of entrepreneurs, missionaries, and escapees of the past also joined the initial settlement, which was named after a kind raptoran of the Lordanna flock who warned the ill-fated troop they were walking into an ambush of dark flocks. Her name was Veluvia. However Veluvia was never of real interest to the Kingdom, despite the furs and scrimshaw it produced, but the High Road was, seeing the slow formation of three Kingdom towns and outposts along its length.

The West Falls, 835 KR.
When twice before showings of military strength proved ineffectual against the combined front of the Western Alliance, the Kingdom tried a different tactic, bribery. Imperial generals postulated victory could be attained if simultaneous attacks were launched from Dameron and the north of the province. However, the only way to effectively launch a northern incursion was if the Citadel was open, the "gate" into the guarded vale country. The dwarves of Citadel were always among the staunchest opposition to the Kingdom, but even they had a kink, a jealous second sister in the royal line, a would-be queen named Moraig willing to lend herself to the Kingdom if they could claim her the throne. It wasn’t long after that, as Dameron’s army launched from the south, the queen of Citadel was murdered and replaced and Kingdom forces allowed passage from the north. The result was a bitter loss as the Western Alliance was crushed.

The Pricilli and all their rich culture were assimilated into the empire and ruled over by a duke from the Kingdom, cousins of the king. The drow were driven deep beneath the earth, while the dwarves were turned to slaves beneath their new queen for the empire was always in need of weapons and armor. The vampires were left to their own devices in their cursed lands, content with the offering made to them two hundred
years prior. Tho-Siggot was similarly left to their own mad devices, having no real aspirations beyond their strange worship. And of the elves of Meresoa, who had survived all this time despite the Kingdom’s breaking of elves, they were captured and to be made the personal servants of the king himself in Norfeld. However their king and people were able to perform a mass suicide before such a fate could befall them.

THE DEMON WAR, Beginning of the Age of Spring (4th Cycle).
For the Kingdom’s part, they had very little to do with the Demon War, despite their estranged settelment Veluvia being at the very heart of it. Whilst the empire continued combating the annoyances of rebellions and internal conflict between the monarchy and the church, a group of northern heroes managed to join together and defeat the Seven Demon Lords, culminating in a battle with the anti-madonna Shalraza, who carried the demon-dragon god within her. Her defeat liberated the northlands, united many of its factions, and inspired the new
nation of Atha. Its heroes went on to lead clans, cities and peoples of their own, together forming a great Northern
Alliance, much to the Kingdom’s dismay.

Sons of Nor Revival, 2 AS.
Disagreements with church and state became dangerous insurrection as the Church of Nor, tired of the irresponsible government deviating from the true mission of the Kingdom as set down by Nor’s example, began a widespread movement across the empire, gathering thousands upon thousands of similarly disgruntled citizens in a religious and political movement known as The Revival. Revivalists, also known as Sons of Nor, wanted the Kingdom to return to its true mission and end the schemes of warmongering, money-grubbing beaurocrats. While not a direct rebellion against King Deucalion, it did call into question all of his advisers, loyal nobles, politicans and policies. Before the King could squelch such insolence, the movement became a wildfire, and in every corner of the empire citizens began dressing in red armor, representing their hunger for change and their willingness to shed blood to achieve it.

Yathnoc Converts, 11 AS.
The Sons of Nor had become an engine for change whose authority was quickly overshadowing even the King’s, but when the red dragon elder Yathnoc openly submitted to the will of the church and converted to Norism (along with dozens of lesser red dragons), the sublty was over. Primus Endymion Norson, head of the church, initiator of the Revival, and cousin to the king, blessed the conversion before an awestruck Norfeld. The Sons came from all corners of the empire to witness this marvel of faith. And when all assembled, and with many great dragons in their ranks, it was easy enough to usurp total control. The helpless

King Deucalion, prisoner in his own castle, was spirited out of the city by his last loyal subjects. In his absence, Endymion began a farse of a diliberation on how best to lead the country. The thousands of Sons cried out as one for the Primus to lead the Kingdom back on the righteous path, though he refused to make his final move until the King could be found.

Imperial Dragoons formed, 13 AS.
Many of the people were terrified by the presence of dragons in the empire, much less living in and around the capital. To ease troubled minds, and sway whatever military might still holding loyalty to the king, Endymion formed the Imperial Dragoons, dragon-riding knights selected from the best of every fort to be the elite guardians of the Kingdom and bringers of Nor’s justice upon the sinfulworld. Man and dragon together in service of the empire quickly became every little Nors boy’s greatest aspiration
and dazzled the greater populace. Citizens began developing a new sense of pride and identity, wondered by what else Endymion might offer them. Imperial dragoons became the symbol of the new Kingdom, the Nors return to more epic origins.

Kingdom becomes a Theocracy, 15 AS.
King Deucalion resurfaced two years after his escape with an army of loyalists, mainly forces drawn from the Pricilla, Umbalat and Suoul provinces, but against the might of Norfeld, the Sons, Imperial Dragoons and red dragons, it was a quick and pointless conflict. The King was slain, labeled a traitor to his own people, and Endymion finally had the closure needed to assume full control of the Kingdom as Heirarch Endymion. The provincial armies, however, were almost entirely spent, and new freedom movements quickly surfaced.

Endymion Anointed Heirarch, 17 AS, Present Day.
Despite Endymion’s overall dominion, many of the noble lines and long-established power brokers were opposed to the changes in policy after nearly a thousand years. A secret, two year war raged throughout the empire, fought mostly by assassins and inquisitors, between those Loyalists of Endymion and the Patriots of the old order. In the end, Endymion proved triumphant. He kept much of the old structure of duke, margraves, counts, barons and the like, but replaced or converted each person of power so the whole of the empire was loyal to him.

Thus begins the Reign of the Heirarch.

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Vampires

Vampires have experienced a series of dramatic changes since the Demon War and the close of the Third Cycle.

No longer holding any ties with Laz, the race has inherently changed, losing the Lich God's undead blessing and in essence becoming mortal. Many vampires perished during the Change, only humanoid vampires surviving. Once a people created and sustained by conversion to undeath, varied as all the world's races, vampires now reproduce as any other race and have inherited a more unifying set of traits. Vampires appear as humans with strong cheekbones and chins, heavy-lidded eyes that occasionally reflect light like a predatory animal, and ashen skin which mutes whatever coloring they once held. Their fangs elongate when triggered by adrenaline, usually before a kill, when entering battle or when aroused.

These dramatic changes to the fundamental makeup of the race as a whole might have brought about the end of vampire civilization if not for the quickness of Hell to fill the power and worship gap. With Torment's envoy Dante sitting Saspien's throne and the Dark Gods' clergy having already had a presence in the city, speedy moves were made to ensure the continued alliance between Houses and the increase of Hell's power on Othyr.

All the better for Hecate (pronounced Heh-ka-tee), deific offspring of Serren and Tazjaree, who inherited Invidious' spark to become the new dark goddess of envy, lies and politics. Being the only dark god present in Torment, she is worshiped exclusively as Queen of Hell by the majority of the vampires and all but the eldest of devils still loyal to their creators. Much of the dark gods' clergy has converted to Hecate, uniting into a faith of unspeakable power and resources the likes of which separate they could never have dreamed. Old religious hatreds between dark god worshipers have changed to cutthroat rivalries, each of the former faiths now homogeneous sects of Wrath, Lust, Pride, Envy, Gluttony, Sloth and even Greed with no regard to the former dark gods embodying them. The seven sects endlessly vie for Hecate's favor, employing cruel and merciless politicking which pleases her greatly.

The Church of Hecate is a staunch supporter of King Dante and together Saspien has prospered like in the days of old, becoming an unshakable monarchy with heavy theocratic leanings.

The Change also heralded the return of three lost houses thought destroyed ages ago: House 'Dir, House Mallus and House Ruiz. They were once but minor families charged by the ancient King of the Night to expand his empire. Not long after their departure, Nor's Rebellion erupted, leveling much of the world and breaking Pangeal into continents. Now the missing three are returned to find all the minor houses long-since consumed by the surviving four houses: Il'spana, Lorein, Al'Zareef and Calalas. They've rightfully taken their place among them, the long centuries away from Saspien having tempered their foreign families into equals, if not superiors, to their Othyrian contemporaries.

Not only do they bring added strength to Saspien, they've also established a vampire presence on the tip of a continent deep in the southwest deeps of the Atlantia Ocean, a dark, jungle realm dubbed Tir'Buk.

And so a new identity is forged for the ancient race, changed but more powerful than ever, an Umbral Empire under the leadership of the current King of the Night, Dante Il'spana, and the seven sects of the Church of Hecate.

* See the upcoming History of Othyr for the origins and ancient history of the Vampires.

Vampire Facts:

• Vampires still require blood to live as normal races require food and water.
• Vampires need sleep, what they call torpor, of the amount normal races require for extended rests. This must be done out of direct sunlight or they receive no resting benefits. Most rest during the day, but this is not required.
• Vampires now speak Infernal as their native tongue, but also know Common, largely because of Hell's strong presence in Saspien.
• Classic vampire weaknesses do not work on Othyrian vampires, nor does anything that effects undead. They are a mortal race with an age akin to elves, capable of living for thousands of years.
• More and more vampires are calling Saspien the City of the Night and its more ancient name Cliffside thanks in part to the slang brought back from Tir'Buk. Call it whatever you like best, though.

Vampire

Average Height: 5'5 - 6'2
Average Weight: 140 - 220lb.

Ability Adjustment: +2 Dex, +2 Cha

Size: Medium
Speed: 6
Vision: Darkvision

Languages: Common, Infernal

Skill Modifiers: +2 Intimidate, +2 Stealth

Bloodhunt: You gain a +1 bonus to attacks against bloodied creatures.

Graveborn: You have resist Necrotic 5 + 1/2 your level, and vulnerability 5 Radiant.

Shadowy Origin: Your ancestors came from the shadow plane of Cadavera, thus you are considered a shadow creature for the purpose of effects that relate to creature origin.

Child of Night: Once per encounter, you can use either blood drain or overwhelming gaze:

Blood Drain (Vampire Racial Power)
You sink your fangs into an defenseless victim, draining away their life to sustain your own.
Encounter
Standard Action
Target: One Natural or Fey Creature
Requirement: Must have Combat Advantage.
Restriction: Constructs are immune.
Attack: Str, Dex or Con +2 vs. Reflex
Hit: You heal 1d6+Con and inflict that much damage on the target.
Increase the bonus to +4 and the damage to 2d6 at 11th level, and +6 and 3d6 at 21st.
Special: When you create your character, choose Strength, Dexterity or Constitution as the ability score you use when making attack rolls with this power. This choice remains throughout your character's life.

or

Overwhelming Gaze (Vampire Racial Power)
Your wide-eyed, piercing gaze floods a victim's mind with your darkest thoughts.
Encounter (Gaze): Charm, Psychic, Fear
Standard Action
Range 5
Target: One Creature
Attack: Int, Wis or Cha +2 vs. Will
Hit: Target is dazed (save ends)
Sustain Minor: You sustain the power's effect.
Increase the bonus to +4 at 11th level and +6 at 21st.
Special: When you create your character, choose Intelligence, Wisdom or Charisma as the ability score you use when making attack rolls with this power. This choice remains throughout your character's life.

House Heritage: You also receive extra bonuses depending on what family you're from.

Il'spana
+2 Knowledge Checks involving Shadow creatures and places and an additional +1 Stealth.
Il'spana is a house of spies, assassins and warlocks of the darkness pact, the Black Web as they're sometimes called, with a long history of shadow powers and ties to the ancient Vampire home plane of Cadavera. In recent years they have gained much prominence, as King Dante is of this House. The current leader is Preyth Myfang, a spymaster of the highest order.

Lorein
+2 Knowledge Checks involving Undead creatures and places and +1 Intimidate.
Once the most powerful family in Saspien, whose influence sprung from their mastery of necromancy and undeath, the full abandonment of Laz and the Change has left them scrambling to retain their seats of power. They were the first to convert to Hecate and have produced the most new clerics and paladins since. Their current leaders are the incestuous twins Soziel and Naphira, both of whom hold little love of their king.

Al'Zareef
+2 Knowledge Checks involving Immortal and Elemental creatures and places.
The house of summoners, based in the labyrinthine lurks of the great Ziggurat, are almost exclusively wizards and warlocks. Their trade, as ever, is the binding, dealing and combating of extraplanar creatures, specifically immortal and elemental creatures, more specifically devils and demons. The imprisonment and divine prevention of demon conjuring has taken a toll on the house, but has been counterbalanced by the increased correspondences with Hell and its denizens. Their current leader is the High Pacter Husifar, a supporter of Dante and friend of the Saviors.

Calalas
+2 Knowledge Checks involving Fey and Plant creatures and places.
Led by the Western Archdruid Dabian, House Calalas is a family of druids, rangers and warlocks of fey pacts. They maintain a strange balance between natural and unnatural with their dealings and were the first supporters of the King. They feel vindicated by becoming a mortal race as it brings them closer to the natural way of things. This has also turned the family into a collection of nymphomaniacs, reveling in the new-found joy of sex. Calalas has subsequently produced the most dhampir.

'Dir
+2 Knowledge Checks involving Wars, Battles and Military History and +1 Acrobatics.
In the depths of Tir'Buk, the three families had need of protection, for many dangers and indigenous peoples stood in their way. House 'Dir answered that call, led by their ancestral hero Ver'Dir. They are a family of rangers and fighters equaled by few, specializing in covert missions and guerrilla warfare. They have ever been loyal to the King of the Night, even after all these ages, and were the driving impetus to return to Saspien once effected by the Change. In Saspien, 'Dir comprises most of the army, replacing what once was filled by scores of Lorein undead troops, earning 'Dir their hatred. The house is currently led by The Engineer, Palan'Dir, an accomplished warrior and inventor of a wicked weapon known as the warshear.

Mallus
+2 Knowledge Checks involving animals and +1 Nature.
Tamers and beast masters, Mallus is a strange family with close, personal (and some say sexual) relationships with apes, bears and lions. They're competent bushmen besides, scouts, hunters and shaman. They're very close with 'Dir, but dislike the mercurial Ruiz. They're led by Vivictus Mallus, a tamer of apes and fearsome berserker.

Ruiz
+2 Knowledge Checks involving sailing and oceans and +1 Athletics.
Pirates, sailors, brigands and swashbucklers, Ruiz is a house likened to the sea, mercurial, bold but quick to anger. They are a charismatic and cunning lot comprising the Tir'Buk, and now Saspien, navy. All their most important members own a ship, or act as first mates, though every one of them is part of a crew. They're led by the young, voracious Sharkson, a competent seductor and a very competent fight, to say nothing of a brilliant seaman.


Dhampir

While dhampir were once shunned oddities concieved by one in a handful of terrible ways, half-vampires' reception has grown more positive in Saspien (and by extension Northern society) thanks mostly to the vampire's dhampir king. Dhampir frequency is also increasing due to vampires' newly-gained ability to conceive with humans. Thus a young minority of hopeful dhampir (none older than 17) has risen across the North, though almost exclusively within Saspien.

Dhampir appear as humans with commanding auras, reflecting the stronger features of the vampire race in their posture, chins and cheekbones. They possess a slightly-ashen complexion and disarming stares. Their canines are slightly overdeveloped and they tend not to tan, but otherwise appear nothing more than odd humans.

It is guessed dhampir age at a rate consistent with vansi, considering what has been seen of their aging, with suspected lifespans of around 125 years. Similarly, preexisting dhampir, having lost their undead-like aspects, are finding their once near-endless lives catching up to them, even killing those beyond 125. This has serious implications for the future of Saspien, as King Dante has a limited rule.


Dhampir

Average Height: 5'5 - 6'2
Average Weight: 140 - 220lb.

Ability Adjustment: +2 Con and +2 Cha

Size: Medium
Speed: 6
Vision: Low-light

Languages: Common, Infernal

Skill Adjustments: +2 Endurance, +2 Intimidate

Dual Heritage: You can take feats that have either vampire or human as a prerequisite (or dhampir-specific feats), granted you meet any other requirements.

Gravekin: Your vampiric ancestry affords you a +1 bonus to Fortitude defense and +2 bonus to savings throws against necrotic effects.

Child of Twilight: You may choose either blood drain or overwhelming gaze as a racial encounter power. The choice remains throughout your character's life.

Blood Drain (Vampire Racial Power)
You sink your fangs into an immobile victim, draining away their life to sustain your own.
Encounter
Standard Action
Target: One Natural or Fey Creature
Requirement: Must have Combat Advantage.
Restriction: Constructs are immune.
Hit: You heal 1d6+Con and inflict that much damage on the target.
Increase the bonus to +4 and the damage to 2d6 at 11th level, and +6 and 3d6 at 21st.
Special: When you create your character, choose Strength, Dexterity or Constitution as the ability score you use when making attack rolls with this power. This choice remains throughout your character's life.

or

Overwhelming Gaze (Vampire Racial Power)
Your wide-eyed, piercing gaze floods a victim's mind with your darkest thoughts.
Encounter (Gaze): Charm, Psychic, Fear
Standard Action
Range 5
Target: One Creature
Attack: Int, Wis or Cha +2 vs. Will
Hit: Target is dazed (save ends)
Sustain Minor: You sustain the power's effect.
Increase the bonus to +4 at 11th level and +6 at 21st.
Special: When you create your character, choose Intelligence, Wisdom or Charisma as the ability score you use when making attack rolls with this power. This choice remains throughout your character's life.

Regional Heritage: You also receive extra bonuses depending on where you're from, chosen from a region list of bonuses forthcoming.


Feats

Besides the general feats in the PHB, vampires also qualify for these feats even if they don't meet the prerequisites: Hellfire Blood and Light Step.

In addition, vampires and dhampir also have access to several custom heroic feats.

Elemental Drain
Prerequisites: Vampire, blood drain racial power
Benefit: You can use your blood drain on elemental creatures.

Immortal Drain
Prerequisites: Vampire, blood drain racial power
Benefit: You can use your blood drain on immortal creatures.

Aberrant Drain
Prerequisites: Vampire, blood drain racial power
Benefit: You can use your blood drain on aberrant creatures.

Shadow Drain
Prerequisites: Vampire, blood drain racial power
Benefit: You can use your blood drain on shadow creatures, including other vampires.

Undeath Drain
Prerequisites: Vampire, blood drain racial power
Benefit: You can use your blood drain on undead creatures.

Slowing Gaze
Prerequisites: Vampire, overwhelming gaze racial power
Benefit: You can choose for a successful overwhelming gaze attack to slow a target instead.

Nightmare Gaze
Prerequisites: Vampire, overwhelming gaze racial power
Benefit: Every round your gaze is successfully sustained, it deals 1d6 psychic damage to the target.

Psychic Waltz
Prerequisites: Vampire, overwhelming gaze racial power
Benefit: When you successfully hit with overwhelming gaze, you can shift the target 1 square in addition to keeping him dazed. Every round the target remains under your control, you can push him 1 square.

Lich-Loved
Prerequisite: Vampire
Special: Necrophilia on a regular basis
Benefit: Mindless undead regard you as one of their own, ignoring you unless provoked. Provocation includes the undead being attacked while you are in their threat range or you attacking the undead.

Graveborn
Prerequisite: Dhampir, gravekin racial trait
Benefit: You replace your gravekin racial trait with a vampire's graveborn.

Night Stalker's Sight
Prerequisite: Dhampir, low-light vision
Benefit: You now have darkvision.

Skill Muse
Prerequisite: Hybrid Race
Benefit: Choose one skill you are trained in or racially adjusted towards. You grant all allies within 5 squares of you a +1 bonus to that skill. This skill choice can be switched after a short or extended rest while in combat or a strenuous situation, or at will otherwise.

Photoreflex
Prerequisite: Hybrid Race
Benefit: Choose one skill you have seen performed since your last extended rest. You gain a +2 bonus to that skill until your next extended rest, even if it's untrained.

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And as a companion piece to the map, here's the descriptions of the kingdoms and nations comprising the continent:

The Kingdom was and is the most powerful nation on the continent. It's monarchy was ousted for a theocracy thanks to a grassroots religious movement known as The Sons of Nor, backed by the Church of Nor. What some might have called a coup, with the death of the king, two years of secret wars between the church and the noble houses saw the church victorious. The surviving houses were made to follow the new leader of The Kingdom, Heirarch Endymion, the “chosen” who would lead the empire back on the path of righteousness. Among his more radical changes have been the open alliance with red dragons and the use of his secret police known as The Inquisition to eliminate all instances of “elvish” arcane magic and opposition against the church-state. All non-humans are imprisoned or killed on sight, with the exception of dwarves who have been assimilated as “human” in order to benefit from their ingenious crafting. Elves are also allowed to exist in the empire, but only as slaves, passed from one generation to the next among the most powerful of noble houses. Half-elves are treated thusly, as well. The empire now worships Nor exclusively as their patron god, acknowledging no other, and clerics of other gods are imprisoned or killed on sight. The empire is in a state of transition, perhaps why they haven't invaded anyone in the last twenty years, but as things stabilize with the new regime the hungry eye of the Heirarch will surely wander.

Atha is a recently emerged nation from the union of northern cities who, after the devastating losses during The Demon War, banded together for mutual interests. This union proved incredibly prosperous over two decades, allowing for substantial growth in military, economic and social sectors. A grand army of giants, men, goblins, and feladrin collectively known as The Wardens now patrol the north as a national guard. Ruled mostly by Saviors or heroes of the Demon War, Atha is well-seasoned and well-connected, holding powerful ties with Etheria and Saspien and making it a formidable political power much to the Kingdom's distress. They've also drawn the ire of Azerbad for being a sanctuary for goblin slave runaways fleeing persecution by way of the Green River trafficking organization.

Etheria is a new city state risen by the divine power of Kalinda's own will to act as a hub of religion for The New Gods and as a sanctuary for the dwindling raptoran race, whom the goddess holds a special place for. Almost all the raptorans, good or evil, came to Etheria and converted to one of the New Gods, tending their great temples in one of five quarters within Etheria. Because of its function as the center of New God religion, many races come to the city by means of harrier or winding mountain paths to learn, teach and gather the means to spread the good word. Etheria's influence can already be felt across Atha, Saspien, and Leeds, marking it another opponent of The Kingdom and its one god. The traffic between raptorans and human faithful has also began to spawn half-raptoran ethrey and gehney, what perhaps is the key to the race's survival.

Myaton is an ancient kingdom, one of man's firsts, but only recently has it been given an official name or borders. Home to a intelligent, strategic and capable race of humans who've managed a culture almost entirely hidden from the rest of the world for all these years, slowly they emerge from their palatial cities and cliff-side monasteries for reasons largely unknown. Neutral in almost every matter, it is too soon to say just how Myaton will effect continental politics, religion or society. Suffice to say they are capable of great military and economic feats.

Saspien has seen a great many changes in the last twenty years. Most shocking, perhaps, was the fundamental transformation of the race as the last remnants of Laz's undead blessing left the vampires and turned all that survived into a mortal people akin to elves in suspected longevity. Known as The Change, it might have destroyed vampiric civilization if not for the quick moves of The Church of Hecate and The Church of Gabriel to fill the power gaps, unifying the Houses under the dhampir king Dante and his archmage bride Victoria. Three long-lost houses returned to Saspien and further bolstered their power, come from the new continent of Tir'buk, claimed in Saspien's name. Under Dante and Victoria, the churches have flourished, the vampires have grown more “social”, and the more cruel aspects of their society halted (such as the human farms). The human villages in the shadow of the city have since been given their freedom, only to remain for lack of anywhere else to go, and a strange balance has been struck between the once-prey turned partners and the once immortal masters turned mortal and fallible.

Leeds is perhaps the oldest human kingdom, having existed even before The Kingdom, and helped built by Altan's own hands during the Restoration following the destruction after The Winters War. They even managed to escape the slavery of the elven empire thanks largely to the natural barriers of the Dawnspear Mountains and Umbala Jungles. And so they have escaped The Kingdom, until now, as their relatively small and isolated kingdom comes under more and more political pressure from the empire, Etheria and most especially the aggressive neighboring country of Jiwar to choose a side and make a stand. Of Ledevas themselves, there are a fair race of men that look like they may have been cousins to Nors, or perhaps the human stock the elves used all those years ago to breed their “perfect men”. They stand smaller than Nors, and not all of them strike such statuesque poses. They are great lovers of the sea, holding a respectable navy, and having developed a lucrative economy based around their seamanship, especially with new nations like Etheria, Jiwar and Atha to trade with.

Jiwar was once the ruling territory that was Umbala, a land upriver where kings and chieftains and empresses were made, but once The Kingdom invaded, all of their lands were stolen away and their people beaten into assimilation. However the wild hearts of the Um royalty would not go quietly. Using their superior knowledge of the jungle and its resources, they established the volatile nation of Jiwar, a country that employs whatever means necessary to maintain its borders, and expand them if it can. Always at war with The Kingdom, insular imperial strife abated any decisive strike against Jiwar, but now that the Hierarch has assumed full control, it seems war is on the horizon, one Jiwar, even with all its ferocity, cannot hope to win. In their zeal, Jiwari have begun worship of an array of strange entities seeking power, and opened their borders to orcs, giants (jotun cousins of other elements), gnolls, minotaurs, kobolds, vengeful goblins and anything else willing to fight for them.

Azerbad is a land shrouded in mystery, a desert empire of such power that not even The Kingdom has dared invade them in all the years of its existence, as the elven empire before them did not dare. Though Azerbadians have made small, limited merchant trips throughout Othyr, even so far as to what is now Atha, their people, their ways and their capabilities are largely unknown. Many rumors fly, of course, of vast technologies, genie overlords, dragon kings and even what little is left of the ancient elven empire that fled Nor's rebellion. What is largely known, however, is that in the northern-most towns and cities goblins are used as slaves, fodder and test subjects, a grim fact which began the Green River and the trafficking of goblins to Molg and the freedom of Atha, putting Atha on Azerbad's list.

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Thought I'd post the world map for my next 4e campaign.

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The topic of what is and isn't roleplaying has been done to death, but never is it mentioned the problem I've experienced with players who are, at the heart of it, good actors and writers, but selfish and indulgent roleplayers, in fact they aren't roleplayers at all. It's a problem I've come to call Roleplaying vs. Fantasizing.

Roleplaying, as I see it, are players acting and interacting as their characters within the confines of the game or story, doing their best to make them function on an individual level, but also on a larger level given other characters and plots. There is a sense of cooperative co-storytelling in roleplaying, one that doesn't compromise the character but at the same time allows for a shared creative process among players and DM.

Fantasizers are players who act and interact as characters, but are selfish in their performance, often times irrational in their reactions, motives or interactions so as to capture the essence of their fantasy, that is who they wish they were. There is usually little cooperation involved with these players, though on a unique basis one can fit quite well into a gaming group, until confronted with another fantasizer. At that point, both their preconceived notions almost always clash and causes not only a game meltdown, but aggression beyond the game (partially because the character is their fantasy, and marring someone's perfect notion on something is always taken personally).

The problem is the game itself should not be a vehicle for fantasizers to experience their dream self. The game should be a creative vehicle outside the realm of selfish, private imaginings and more for a shared experience of interesting characters. That isn't saying a player can't put himself into his character, of course he can, it's essential for a great roleplaying, but he can't be the character on all its levels and he cannot take it personally.

But what exactly is a fantasizer's fantasy beyond what they wish they could be brought forward in an inappropriate venue like a game table? Some of the most common occurrences of fantasizing include a supernaturally attractive character who assumes she can spin and toy with any NPC's heart. There are also those quiet, brooding loner types, sometimes Anime-esque. The concepts in and of themselves aren't inherently fantasizer (done to death, but not fantasizer) until they are then played badly. Cliches are a quick road for fantasizing, because a player has come into a game with preconceived notions about himself, how the world will treat him, and how the players will treat him. That quickly turns a brooding, cloaked character expecting to be mysterious into an incredibly annoying thorn for the combination of seemingly random actions topped with forever being a stranger because of his reticence.

Fantasizers will often have the same common thread between all alternate characters. The same player will again go for a gorgeous woman, a hooded man with a hidden weapon, or a guy with a mean streak. Any attempt at something different will inevitably revert to their former fantasy and any critique on said concept leads to hostility. To them it may seem like choosing simple options that they prefer, roleplaying even, but really they are playing into a mentally preconceived notion of a character and preconceived interactions with other characters and the world.

At that point, when the player begins trying to control how the character is interacted with or perceived, at that point I think they cross over from roleplaying to fantasizing. They begin steering the world and those elements beyond the ken of a player to fit their fantasy. Its no longer is a character at that point, but an extension of themselves, a delusion meant to give the player some sort of acted out satisfaction.

With all of this said, maybe fantasizers aren't a problem for some DMs or roleplayers. I suppose it's all how you approach it. Maybe you don't even see a difference between the two, which probably means you could get along just fine. I guess it ultimately boils down to the age old dilemma of trouble at the game table between DM and player/s or player and player. As always, the problem must be addressed immediately. Roleplaying vs. Fantasizing is just a possible cause I've picked up on and think has some validity. Thoughts?

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