Rybaer
First Post
This is copied over from the old message boards with most of the commentary pulled out to streamline it. -Rybaer
Aftermath – A D&D Campaign
First, some background about the game. I decided to set it in the ruins of a war-torn nation. What had once been a continent full of prosperous and (mostly) political stable nations and city-states is now a wild and dangerous land. Some twenty years prior to the beginning of the game, a group of wizards known collectively as the Black Hand raised and led a unified army of the dark races (goblin, orc, troll, giant, etc.) on a destructive rampage from the North. Over the course of several years, they pushed further to the South, conquering nations and crushing armies until the Southern city-states finally banded together to hold and repel the army. At this point, little is clear as to what exactly happened. The wizards of the Black Hand purportedly disappeared and the dark armies retreated northward.
Given the lack of resources and men needed to pursue the Dark Armies, the Southern city-states left them unchecked. Bands of orcs and goblins enslaved the native survivors of the lands they had conquered. For the next ten to twenty years, the dark races ruled over the central and northern portions of the land. Given their nature, however, the dark races began fighting amongst themselves. In the confusion of the fighting and the weakening of the dark races’ numbers, numerous slave revolts took place. Now, fully twenty years after the beginning of the war, small and isolated cities of former slaves once again reclaim their homelands in a wild and dangerous area.
DM aside – I concocted this back story for a number of reasons. First, the ruins and mysteries resultant from the war provide ample opportunity for exploration and adventure. Second, the lands outside their home are dangerous and worthy of caution. Third, the players could realistically play any race and character class and work together in an easily explained unit. (No awkward explanations about how a half-orc fighter would learn to harmoniously work with an elvish wizard and a dwarven paladin, or whatever the players’ hearts desired.) I basically told them that they had grown up the children of slaves and were now in a community that actively encouraged all its members to pursue military, arcane, or other useful pursuits for the safety of their home. Their community included refugees from all the “good” races, including the half-orc offspring resulting from the rape of slaves by their overseers.
The game begins with the group of five celebrating the recognition of their full adulthood within their community. While I won’t try to publish each character in full detail (the players may choose to do so later if they wish), I will give a brief summary of each as they began:
Amblin – human monk who spends most of his time cleaning his master’s hut. Free spirited character with a love for dogs.
Boaz – half-orc fighter who considers combat an art form. He has a penchant for poking at things with his sword (unfortunate, as time will eventually tell).
Nigel – elvish ranger who is the closest the group has to an official leader. Stealthy and very talented with a bow.
Rurik – dwarvish cleric of Moradin with a typically dwarven taste for ale. He will find that dwarvish clerics tend to be better at fighting than turning undead.
Zalman – human wizard (conjurer) with white hair (from an unfortunate alchemy experiment) and a familiar owl named Hooty. He earned a bit of ire from the others when they discover he is unable to cast “Identify.”
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Updated 1/15/02 -
This campaign has been running for over a year now and has developed considerably. What is posted thus far (through Jan), represents about about 2/3 of what they've done so far. Most of the original characters are still in play, though several have had more brushes with death than they care to recount. They've also learned that they may or may not be tied into a prophecy involving the Black Hand, the very wizards who led the destruction of most of the lands.
-Rybaer
Aftermath – A D&D Campaign
First, some background about the game. I decided to set it in the ruins of a war-torn nation. What had once been a continent full of prosperous and (mostly) political stable nations and city-states is now a wild and dangerous land. Some twenty years prior to the beginning of the game, a group of wizards known collectively as the Black Hand raised and led a unified army of the dark races (goblin, orc, troll, giant, etc.) on a destructive rampage from the North. Over the course of several years, they pushed further to the South, conquering nations and crushing armies until the Southern city-states finally banded together to hold and repel the army. At this point, little is clear as to what exactly happened. The wizards of the Black Hand purportedly disappeared and the dark armies retreated northward.
Given the lack of resources and men needed to pursue the Dark Armies, the Southern city-states left them unchecked. Bands of orcs and goblins enslaved the native survivors of the lands they had conquered. For the next ten to twenty years, the dark races ruled over the central and northern portions of the land. Given their nature, however, the dark races began fighting amongst themselves. In the confusion of the fighting and the weakening of the dark races’ numbers, numerous slave revolts took place. Now, fully twenty years after the beginning of the war, small and isolated cities of former slaves once again reclaim their homelands in a wild and dangerous area.
DM aside – I concocted this back story for a number of reasons. First, the ruins and mysteries resultant from the war provide ample opportunity for exploration and adventure. Second, the lands outside their home are dangerous and worthy of caution. Third, the players could realistically play any race and character class and work together in an easily explained unit. (No awkward explanations about how a half-orc fighter would learn to harmoniously work with an elvish wizard and a dwarven paladin, or whatever the players’ hearts desired.) I basically told them that they had grown up the children of slaves and were now in a community that actively encouraged all its members to pursue military, arcane, or other useful pursuits for the safety of their home. Their community included refugees from all the “good” races, including the half-orc offspring resulting from the rape of slaves by their overseers.
The game begins with the group of five celebrating the recognition of their full adulthood within their community. While I won’t try to publish each character in full detail (the players may choose to do so later if they wish), I will give a brief summary of each as they began:
Amblin – human monk who spends most of his time cleaning his master’s hut. Free spirited character with a love for dogs.
Boaz – half-orc fighter who considers combat an art form. He has a penchant for poking at things with his sword (unfortunate, as time will eventually tell).
Nigel – elvish ranger who is the closest the group has to an official leader. Stealthy and very talented with a bow.
Rurik – dwarvish cleric of Moradin with a typically dwarven taste for ale. He will find that dwarvish clerics tend to be better at fighting than turning undead.
Zalman – human wizard (conjurer) with white hair (from an unfortunate alchemy experiment) and a familiar owl named Hooty. He earned a bit of ire from the others when they discover he is unable to cast “Identify.”
****************************************
Updated 1/15/02 -
This campaign has been running for over a year now and has developed considerably. What is posted thus far (through Jan), represents about about 2/3 of what they've done so far. Most of the original characters are still in play, though several have had more brushes with death than they care to recount. They've also learned that they may or may not be tied into a prophecy involving the Black Hand, the very wizards who led the destruction of most of the lands.
-Rybaer
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