Renshai
First Post
I am gearing up to start my Known Realms Campaign next weekend. While I don't have the campaign setting quite yet, I think the previews and what the authors have posted in addition to the DCC adventures themselves is enough to get started with.
I have a number of house rules that I'm using with this campaign, mainly because we've had a bad run of total party kills in the past. If anyone is interested I'll posts my house rules document for download.
In the mean time I will start posting the material I am getting from my players and how I am weaving their stories into the Known Realms and the DCC adventures.
I have chosen the first two adventures, but plan on just dropping hints and plot hooks for the other adventures and letting them decide what direction they will take. I will be running Bloody Jack's Gold at some point because of one character's background story.
Adventure I: Into the Wilds
Adventure II: The Mysterious Tower
So far my character roster looks like this:
I don't have names yet, so I will refer to their classes for now.
Into the Wilds
The Fighter/Rogue is traveling to Wildsgate to investigate the rumor that a notorious thief may have hidden valuable treasure in some ruins near there. Ever on the hunt for treasure, this pirate...err. sailor is eager to see if the rumors are true.
The Agent of the Sable Knights is traveling to the area to help put an end to the curse that has plagued the family there for a hundred years. He is also to investigate Captain Argun and the Lady Aborn, for there are rumors that the two have become lovers and that both of them have eyes on the important baronial seat of Wildsgate. Captain Argun, being an ex-member of the Sable Knights seems a likely candidate for such an action. It is widely known that while the young Baron Kaldal supports the young King of Crieste, that his half-sister the Lady Aborn supports the nobles and the Imperial Army. The agent's primary mission is to lift the curse and to secretly aid the baron.
The wizard of the Royal Academy is investigating a book that is missing from the Royal Library of Magical Research. A copy of this book is believed to belong to the scrivener of Wildsgate, a very old elf named Navost. The tome contains references to an old wizard that was obsessed with force spells and is rumored to have encased his tower in a magical force field to keep out the rest of the world while he studied magic. This tome will point the party directly to the "Mysterious Tower".
I don't have any background information on the cleric yet.
For information on the Goodman Games Dungeon Crawl Classics, visit www.goodmangames.com
For information about the Known Realms you can visit: http://www.goodmangames.com/5034preview.php
The following was posted at the Goodman Forums by the setting's authors:
An Introduction to the Northlands
A grim cloud hangs over the North. At the time of the scribes' feeble scratchings, scarcely one-third of the North can be properly termed civilized. The great empires of yore have all slipped beneath the march of time. Where great cities once thrived, tall forests now stand. The great works of wizards abound, but few can lay claim to their arcane might. Ruins of old whisper of long lost secrets, waiting only for those bold enough to uncover them. Fell monsters prowl the borderlands, while barbarian raiders grow ever bolder. And civilized nations of mankind, once the shining rulers of the North, are poised on the brink of ruin.
Majestic Crieste, whose empire once spanned the Northlands, has shrunk to a handful of baronies. Its emperor, a mere child, is counseled by corrupt barons and a vizier of unchecked wickedness. Once again monsters and monstrous humanoids roam the darkness, setting upon the helpless and weak. The Priest-Kings of old have returned, and wage a secret war for control of the empire.
To the east the Grand Duchy of Leherti stands in smoking ruin, its cities put to the torch and its people enslaved to monsters. The surviving free cities are hard put to hold their own, let alone retake that which was lost. The armies of the Scourge, far from defeated, bide their time and recoup their forces, waiting only for the time to finish what they have begun.
To the south and the north are smaller nations, once beholden to the Emperor of Crieste, that now strike out for their own. They carry humankind’s fiery torch, but are threatened on all sides, contesting as much with one another as with monsters.
Travel between nations grows ever less frequent and ever more dangerous. Meanwhile, barbarians of the North and Abylos of old, threaten at the borders, raiding deeper into the heart of civilization. Dark seers consult their fiendish masters and declare an end to the Age of Man.
And yet, not all is lost. In Crieste, the Knights of the Sable fight in the name of the Emperor and wage a secret war against their wicked Vizier. Dwarven warlords hailing from the Holdfast of the Steel Overlord take up axe beside elven knights of Blackbriar, Corsan and Anseur. Knights of the Lance ride to the ends of the North, fighting for justice and good. And everywhere, adventurers fight their way into forgotten ruins and ancient dungeons, returning with untold riches and arcane relics.
It is a time of heroes, when power, riches and honor can be won by any hero courageous enough to take risk the threatening darkness.
CRIESTE: This is the foundation empire of the North. At the time of the gazetteer, Crieste is emerging from a 300-year interregnum. Without an emperor, the nation sank into a dark age, causing many of the other kingdoms and free cities in the North to declare their freedom from the old Empire.
Pressed for an emperor, the barons of Crieste placed a child on the throne and appointed a wicked vizier to ensure that the boy remain but a figurehead that wouldn’t interfere with their plots. Fortunately, the child-emperor is served by Captain Sentri, a loyal servant of the throne who works to ensure that the emperor, the of the empire, stay true to the cause of Good.
Enter the PCs. Sentri needs agents and brave souls to counter the Vizier’s schemes. This is sourced from Dumas’ “The Three Muskateers,” in that PCs – serving as knights and agents of the Sable March – find themselves pitted against the Crieste’s Imperial Army. The adventures range from courtly intrigue to back alley duels, to being ambushed by the Vizier’s agents as the PCs emerge from dungeons laden with treasure.
Despite 300 years of decline, Crieste still exerts control over a great deal of territory. There are two capitols, Winter and Summer palaces, respectively. Kassantia, the Winter Palace (appearing in an upcoming DCC), is a Mecca for Áereth’s wizards. Home to the prestigious Royal Academy of Sorcery, and the mysterious Ordo Arcana, the city is can rightly be said to be the Gem of Crieste. Wondrous sights and sounds abound in the city’s shops, archmages can be seen arriving astride pegasi and enormous rocs, and the brightly armored knights of the Sable March patrol the well-cobbled streets.
The Summer Palace (Archbridge, as found in DCC #1)is home to the the Imperial Army and their chief rival, the Order of the Sable March. Archbridge is a city ruled by Crieste’s warrior class, men and women famed for their honor and martial pride. Status in the Imperial Army is determined by noble birth, while in the Sable March rank is accorded by honor and bravery. It follows them that the Army and the Knights of the March are bitter rivals, each striving to outdo the other on the field of battle. Too often these tensions boil over, resulting in a deadly back alley duels and running street battles. Officially, the generals of the Army and the Sable March refuse to condone the duels, but high-level commanders can be often seen returning to their barracks late at night, sporting bloody wounds and ferocious grins.
Many aspiring young warriors make pilgrimages to the city, hoping to join the ranks of the fabled March or the Imperial Army. Those that fail quickly find their way to the city’s taverns and gambling dens, where they nurse their wounded pride with liquor and brawling. It is said that Archbridge is a city of warrior-lords, but this only partially true; for every knight there are a dozen pretenders hoping to catch the Emperor’s eye.
The majestic city is built atop the ruins of a previous acropolis, and Archbridge’s vast undercity is notorious for its ancient passageways, forgotten tombs and secret corridors. The Imperial Army sends regular expeditions into the undercity, but – of course – few return.
An Introduction to the Southlands
Antediluvian magic and spirits as old as the world itself dwell in the continental region known as the Southlands. The name is a misnomer, since the Southlands are more west than south, but the names that stick are the ones explorers first write on their maps. To those who sail westward across the great Empyrean Ocean the Southlands may seem like the New World at first, but the glyphs carved into the ancient temples and great megaliths beg to differ.
The Southlands are a vast geography ranging from towering, ice-capped mountains to humid, burning jungles. The climate is decidedly tropical, but numerous anomalies of nature confound all but the local druids—and the priests of the Mighty Eye, the ancient creation god Madrah.
The mighty City-States of Xulmec (pronounced shul-mec) are by far the dominant power of the Southlands, a proud and mystic people who’ve learned the hard lessons of the nagas who once reigned supreme millennia before. Devotion to their gods and the primeval belief that they must protect the world from ultimate destruction keeps the Xulmecs from the manifest destiny of which the Northlanders seem possessed. They stave off the expansionist-minded foreigners, hold at bay the unspeakable horrors of the jungle, and remain ever vigilant against the evil schemes of Ssorlang, a would-be empire of human-snake hybrids intent on conquering the Known Lands.
The Xulmecs are as diverse as they are mysterious. While the fire priests of the city-state of Chuzec regularly cut out the hearts of their captives upon their burning altars, the adolescent king and queen of Teotcoatlan host elegant ceremonies at the summits of their majestic pyramids. Acolytes of the Rain Queen pray for life and healing...even as the bloodthirsty warlords of Coatlimict plan their next raid. A Northland visitor to the jungles of Xulmec is as likely to be welcomed with gifts of food or scalped and later sacrificed to the gods—it all depends on which Xulmecs he meets first.
But that’s just on the surface. The expansive Zimala, the old homeland of the nagas, and the monstrous Isle of Tarras are locales not conducive to long lives—to say nothing of the wyvern-infested marshes of exotic Dujamar. If there is a place of safety, it might be found in the Criestine Colonies, where the famous Emerald Cobra once reigned, or the safe harbor of Halcyon.
But a poisoned kris blade is hiding in the shadows somewhere...
Freeholds, the (the Outlaw Territories)
A loose collection of brigand enclaves ruled by brutal warlords, the Freehold badlands are in a constant state of lawlessness and unrest. The fall of Leherti swelled the ranks of the bandit lords, but thus far the Freeholds have limited themselves to raiding caravans and outlying settlements of nearby lands. Though strong enough in number to form a fearsome army, without a charismatic ruler the brigands are nothing more than bands of disorganized raiders and poorly armed militias.
What passes for a city or town in the Freeholds is often nothing more than filthy stronghold at the back of box canyon, atop a ridge, or some other place with natural defensibility. Most strongholds sport wooden walls atop earthen ramparts, while the rare fort might be found within the decaying stone walls of a previous fortress. Invariably each stronghold has one (or more) mead halls and taverns, a smithy and armorer, corral, and a well-defended tower or keep.
The quality of arms and armor carried by Freehold ruffians depends entirely upon the success of their raids. The lowliest of bands wear piecemeal bits of scavenged armor and fight with improvised polearms. The more successful bands field mounted raiders wearing ringmail or boiled leather, and fight with bows and well-forged spears. Bandit leaders are unique, armed as fortune and chance permits.
With little in the way of agriculture, the brigands rely on raids into civilized lands to swell their grainaries. In times of dire need the outlaws may turn to hunting and foraging, but more often a season of hardship only presages a deadlier season of raids.
While little can be written about the Freeholds that won’t have changed in a fortnight, following is a list of established towns and bandit holds:
Ashaven: (Hamlet, pop. 381) Shortened from its original name Ashe’s Haven, Ashaven is a staging ground for many of the raids into Leherti and the Theocracy. The hamlet has been razed by armies of Leherti on several occasions (known locally as “the shaving of Ashaven”) but the rogues have become masters of escaping into hidden cellars and secret bolt holes. The collapse of Leherti has granted Ashaven a reprieve, and the community is stronger than ever with new brigands arriving each day. Presently the fortified hamlet is ruled by Hadrun the Shadowhand, a swarthy skinned warrior-mage hailing from the Uru’Nuk Highlands.
The Barrier Isles
Rulers: Cozette LeRoux and Lord Raazt
Resources: Trade and contraband
Capital: Bloodport
The chain of islands known as the Barrier Isles are named for their occupants’ propensity to harass, plunder, or sink merchant vessels sailing between the Northlands and the Southlands. The Isles are an unrivaled haven for pirates and buccaneers, a cluster of ports so rife with humanoid vermin that lawmen from the Northlands dare not approach with standards raised.
Before the infamous Bloody Jack made a name for himself more than one hundred years ago, the Barrier Isles were merely a temporary anchorage for Northland seamen making the voyages south and west. A collection of docking ports were settled, each governed by an appointed official from its founding country. The greatest of these was Port Isolé, established by the Criestine crown. A puzzling array of ruins half buried within the forested isles became a distraction to explorers, leading to conflicts among them as each competed to delve the ruins first. Over the years, the number of buccaneers who hid their loot in the ruins began to outnumber the isles’ reputable inhabitants, a situation which deterred merchants and imperial captains.
Then came Bloody Jack Dascombe, the most reviled and feared pirate of his time, with his fleet of loyal raiders. In a single night of blood-soaked violence, he rid the isles of all those he deemed to be in service to Crieste or its allied nations. Just as swiftly, Jack sailed on again, deigning to hide his own treasures elsewhere. Indeed, it was rumored that Jack had a secret island of his own, a place not found on any map, where he stashed his marvelous treasures. Of course, rumors endure today that Bloody Jack left behind small caches of his treasure within the Barrier Isles and many ambitious pirates have given their lives searching for them.
I will be posting some material that my players wrote for their characters in the next couple of threads.
I have a number of house rules that I'm using with this campaign, mainly because we've had a bad run of total party kills in the past. If anyone is interested I'll posts my house rules document for download.
In the mean time I will start posting the material I am getting from my players and how I am weaving their stories into the Known Realms and the DCC adventures.
I have chosen the first two adventures, but plan on just dropping hints and plot hooks for the other adventures and letting them decide what direction they will take. I will be running Bloody Jack's Gold at some point because of one character's background story.
Adventure I: Into the Wilds
Adventure II: The Mysterious Tower
So far my character roster looks like this:
- Human (The Barrier Isles), Fighter/Rogue (1st level multiclass rules from the DMG)
Human (Crieste) Fighter and agent of the Sable Knights.
Human (Crieste) Wizard working for the Royal Academy of Magic and trying to join the Ordo Arcana.
Cleric (unsure of race and background)
I don't have names yet, so I will refer to their classes for now.
Into the Wilds
The Fighter/Rogue is traveling to Wildsgate to investigate the rumor that a notorious thief may have hidden valuable treasure in some ruins near there. Ever on the hunt for treasure, this pirate...err. sailor is eager to see if the rumors are true.
The Agent of the Sable Knights is traveling to the area to help put an end to the curse that has plagued the family there for a hundred years. He is also to investigate Captain Argun and the Lady Aborn, for there are rumors that the two have become lovers and that both of them have eyes on the important baronial seat of Wildsgate. Captain Argun, being an ex-member of the Sable Knights seems a likely candidate for such an action. It is widely known that while the young Baron Kaldal supports the young King of Crieste, that his half-sister the Lady Aborn supports the nobles and the Imperial Army. The agent's primary mission is to lift the curse and to secretly aid the baron.
The wizard of the Royal Academy is investigating a book that is missing from the Royal Library of Magical Research. A copy of this book is believed to belong to the scrivener of Wildsgate, a very old elf named Navost. The tome contains references to an old wizard that was obsessed with force spells and is rumored to have encased his tower in a magical force field to keep out the rest of the world while he studied magic. This tome will point the party directly to the "Mysterious Tower".
I don't have any background information on the cleric yet.
For information on the Goodman Games Dungeon Crawl Classics, visit www.goodmangames.com
For information about the Known Realms you can visit: http://www.goodmangames.com/5034preview.php
The following was posted at the Goodman Forums by the setting's authors:
An Introduction to the Northlands
A grim cloud hangs over the North. At the time of the scribes' feeble scratchings, scarcely one-third of the North can be properly termed civilized. The great empires of yore have all slipped beneath the march of time. Where great cities once thrived, tall forests now stand. The great works of wizards abound, but few can lay claim to their arcane might. Ruins of old whisper of long lost secrets, waiting only for those bold enough to uncover them. Fell monsters prowl the borderlands, while barbarian raiders grow ever bolder. And civilized nations of mankind, once the shining rulers of the North, are poised on the brink of ruin.
Majestic Crieste, whose empire once spanned the Northlands, has shrunk to a handful of baronies. Its emperor, a mere child, is counseled by corrupt barons and a vizier of unchecked wickedness. Once again monsters and monstrous humanoids roam the darkness, setting upon the helpless and weak. The Priest-Kings of old have returned, and wage a secret war for control of the empire.
To the east the Grand Duchy of Leherti stands in smoking ruin, its cities put to the torch and its people enslaved to monsters. The surviving free cities are hard put to hold their own, let alone retake that which was lost. The armies of the Scourge, far from defeated, bide their time and recoup their forces, waiting only for the time to finish what they have begun.
To the south and the north are smaller nations, once beholden to the Emperor of Crieste, that now strike out for their own. They carry humankind’s fiery torch, but are threatened on all sides, contesting as much with one another as with monsters.
Travel between nations grows ever less frequent and ever more dangerous. Meanwhile, barbarians of the North and Abylos of old, threaten at the borders, raiding deeper into the heart of civilization. Dark seers consult their fiendish masters and declare an end to the Age of Man.
And yet, not all is lost. In Crieste, the Knights of the Sable fight in the name of the Emperor and wage a secret war against their wicked Vizier. Dwarven warlords hailing from the Holdfast of the Steel Overlord take up axe beside elven knights of Blackbriar, Corsan and Anseur. Knights of the Lance ride to the ends of the North, fighting for justice and good. And everywhere, adventurers fight their way into forgotten ruins and ancient dungeons, returning with untold riches and arcane relics.
It is a time of heroes, when power, riches and honor can be won by any hero courageous enough to take risk the threatening darkness.
CRIESTE: This is the foundation empire of the North. At the time of the gazetteer, Crieste is emerging from a 300-year interregnum. Without an emperor, the nation sank into a dark age, causing many of the other kingdoms and free cities in the North to declare their freedom from the old Empire.
Pressed for an emperor, the barons of Crieste placed a child on the throne and appointed a wicked vizier to ensure that the boy remain but a figurehead that wouldn’t interfere with their plots. Fortunately, the child-emperor is served by Captain Sentri, a loyal servant of the throne who works to ensure that the emperor, the of the empire, stay true to the cause of Good.
Enter the PCs. Sentri needs agents and brave souls to counter the Vizier’s schemes. This is sourced from Dumas’ “The Three Muskateers,” in that PCs – serving as knights and agents of the Sable March – find themselves pitted against the Crieste’s Imperial Army. The adventures range from courtly intrigue to back alley duels, to being ambushed by the Vizier’s agents as the PCs emerge from dungeons laden with treasure.
Despite 300 years of decline, Crieste still exerts control over a great deal of territory. There are two capitols, Winter and Summer palaces, respectively. Kassantia, the Winter Palace (appearing in an upcoming DCC), is a Mecca for Áereth’s wizards. Home to the prestigious Royal Academy of Sorcery, and the mysterious Ordo Arcana, the city is can rightly be said to be the Gem of Crieste. Wondrous sights and sounds abound in the city’s shops, archmages can be seen arriving astride pegasi and enormous rocs, and the brightly armored knights of the Sable March patrol the well-cobbled streets.
The Summer Palace (Archbridge, as found in DCC #1)is home to the the Imperial Army and their chief rival, the Order of the Sable March. Archbridge is a city ruled by Crieste’s warrior class, men and women famed for their honor and martial pride. Status in the Imperial Army is determined by noble birth, while in the Sable March rank is accorded by honor and bravery. It follows them that the Army and the Knights of the March are bitter rivals, each striving to outdo the other on the field of battle. Too often these tensions boil over, resulting in a deadly back alley duels and running street battles. Officially, the generals of the Army and the Sable March refuse to condone the duels, but high-level commanders can be often seen returning to their barracks late at night, sporting bloody wounds and ferocious grins.
Many aspiring young warriors make pilgrimages to the city, hoping to join the ranks of the fabled March or the Imperial Army. Those that fail quickly find their way to the city’s taverns and gambling dens, where they nurse their wounded pride with liquor and brawling. It is said that Archbridge is a city of warrior-lords, but this only partially true; for every knight there are a dozen pretenders hoping to catch the Emperor’s eye.
The majestic city is built atop the ruins of a previous acropolis, and Archbridge’s vast undercity is notorious for its ancient passageways, forgotten tombs and secret corridors. The Imperial Army sends regular expeditions into the undercity, but – of course – few return.
An Introduction to the Southlands
Antediluvian magic and spirits as old as the world itself dwell in the continental region known as the Southlands. The name is a misnomer, since the Southlands are more west than south, but the names that stick are the ones explorers first write on their maps. To those who sail westward across the great Empyrean Ocean the Southlands may seem like the New World at first, but the glyphs carved into the ancient temples and great megaliths beg to differ.
The Southlands are a vast geography ranging from towering, ice-capped mountains to humid, burning jungles. The climate is decidedly tropical, but numerous anomalies of nature confound all but the local druids—and the priests of the Mighty Eye, the ancient creation god Madrah.
The mighty City-States of Xulmec (pronounced shul-mec) are by far the dominant power of the Southlands, a proud and mystic people who’ve learned the hard lessons of the nagas who once reigned supreme millennia before. Devotion to their gods and the primeval belief that they must protect the world from ultimate destruction keeps the Xulmecs from the manifest destiny of which the Northlanders seem possessed. They stave off the expansionist-minded foreigners, hold at bay the unspeakable horrors of the jungle, and remain ever vigilant against the evil schemes of Ssorlang, a would-be empire of human-snake hybrids intent on conquering the Known Lands.
The Xulmecs are as diverse as they are mysterious. While the fire priests of the city-state of Chuzec regularly cut out the hearts of their captives upon their burning altars, the adolescent king and queen of Teotcoatlan host elegant ceremonies at the summits of their majestic pyramids. Acolytes of the Rain Queen pray for life and healing...even as the bloodthirsty warlords of Coatlimict plan their next raid. A Northland visitor to the jungles of Xulmec is as likely to be welcomed with gifts of food or scalped and later sacrificed to the gods—it all depends on which Xulmecs he meets first.
But that’s just on the surface. The expansive Zimala, the old homeland of the nagas, and the monstrous Isle of Tarras are locales not conducive to long lives—to say nothing of the wyvern-infested marshes of exotic Dujamar. If there is a place of safety, it might be found in the Criestine Colonies, where the famous Emerald Cobra once reigned, or the safe harbor of Halcyon.
But a poisoned kris blade is hiding in the shadows somewhere...
Freeholds, the (the Outlaw Territories)
A loose collection of brigand enclaves ruled by brutal warlords, the Freehold badlands are in a constant state of lawlessness and unrest. The fall of Leherti swelled the ranks of the bandit lords, but thus far the Freeholds have limited themselves to raiding caravans and outlying settlements of nearby lands. Though strong enough in number to form a fearsome army, without a charismatic ruler the brigands are nothing more than bands of disorganized raiders and poorly armed militias.
What passes for a city or town in the Freeholds is often nothing more than filthy stronghold at the back of box canyon, atop a ridge, or some other place with natural defensibility. Most strongholds sport wooden walls atop earthen ramparts, while the rare fort might be found within the decaying stone walls of a previous fortress. Invariably each stronghold has one (or more) mead halls and taverns, a smithy and armorer, corral, and a well-defended tower or keep.
The quality of arms and armor carried by Freehold ruffians depends entirely upon the success of their raids. The lowliest of bands wear piecemeal bits of scavenged armor and fight with improvised polearms. The more successful bands field mounted raiders wearing ringmail or boiled leather, and fight with bows and well-forged spears. Bandit leaders are unique, armed as fortune and chance permits.
With little in the way of agriculture, the brigands rely on raids into civilized lands to swell their grainaries. In times of dire need the outlaws may turn to hunting and foraging, but more often a season of hardship only presages a deadlier season of raids.
While little can be written about the Freeholds that won’t have changed in a fortnight, following is a list of established towns and bandit holds:
Ashaven: (Hamlet, pop. 381) Shortened from its original name Ashe’s Haven, Ashaven is a staging ground for many of the raids into Leherti and the Theocracy. The hamlet has been razed by armies of Leherti on several occasions (known locally as “the shaving of Ashaven”) but the rogues have become masters of escaping into hidden cellars and secret bolt holes. The collapse of Leherti has granted Ashaven a reprieve, and the community is stronger than ever with new brigands arriving each day. Presently the fortified hamlet is ruled by Hadrun the Shadowhand, a swarthy skinned warrior-mage hailing from the Uru’Nuk Highlands.
The Barrier Isles
Rulers: Cozette LeRoux and Lord Raazt
Resources: Trade and contraband
Capital: Bloodport
The chain of islands known as the Barrier Isles are named for their occupants’ propensity to harass, plunder, or sink merchant vessels sailing between the Northlands and the Southlands. The Isles are an unrivaled haven for pirates and buccaneers, a cluster of ports so rife with humanoid vermin that lawmen from the Northlands dare not approach with standards raised.
Before the infamous Bloody Jack made a name for himself more than one hundred years ago, the Barrier Isles were merely a temporary anchorage for Northland seamen making the voyages south and west. A collection of docking ports were settled, each governed by an appointed official from its founding country. The greatest of these was Port Isolé, established by the Criestine crown. A puzzling array of ruins half buried within the forested isles became a distraction to explorers, leading to conflicts among them as each competed to delve the ruins first. Over the years, the number of buccaneers who hid their loot in the ruins began to outnumber the isles’ reputable inhabitants, a situation which deterred merchants and imperial captains.
Then came Bloody Jack Dascombe, the most reviled and feared pirate of his time, with his fleet of loyal raiders. In a single night of blood-soaked violence, he rid the isles of all those he deemed to be in service to Crieste or its allied nations. Just as swiftly, Jack sailed on again, deigning to hide his own treasures elsewhere. Indeed, it was rumored that Jack had a secret island of his own, a place not found on any map, where he stashed his marvelous treasures. Of course, rumors endure today that Bloody Jack left behind small caches of his treasure within the Barrier Isles and many ambitious pirates have given their lives searching for them.
I will be posting some material that my players wrote for their characters in the next couple of threads.
Last edited:
