airwalkrr
Adventurer
What would have happened if Iuz had won the Greyhawk Wars? This campaign!
Little is known about the exact events precipitating Iuz's ascension to power over the entire Flanaess. What few details are known is this. The Northern Alliance first swept from Stonehold to devour Tenh, and from there it proceeded like a juggernaut to overrun the Pale and breach the borders of Nyrond. Simultaneously, the Fruztii, Cruski, and Schnai laid waste to Ratik and poured into the Bone March and Northern Province in droves. The Mad Overking Ivid V, who had been preparing for an invasion of Almor to take advantage of Nyrond's distraction, was taken completely unaware as the barbarians ransacked the Great Kingdom through Ivid's back door. Meanwhile, Iuz overthrew the Heirarchs during the height of the Blood-Moon Festival and began preparations for invasion of his other neighbors to the south. King Belvor IV attempted to warn the Shield Lands, but his warnings fell on deaf ears and soon Iuz had the Shield Lands flanked with forces overruning the Bandit Kingdoms. The Shield Lands fell quickly.
What happened next is a blur in the minds of many. It is recalled that disagreements between the nations of the Sheldomar Valley led to a delay in aid from Keoland and her allies. It is also known that Turrosh Mak rising in the Pomarj distracted the Ulek states. However, it is widely believed that the turning point of the war was when Belvor suddenly fell dead while leading an elite force of knights to sunder the seige of Chendl. Whether by dark eldritch magic or cunning assassination, Chendl lost hope at the sight of its fallen regent, and the city collapsed in on itself. Iuz's forces ran amok through Chendl and decimated a relief force sent from the Gran March only days too late. Ket swept through Bissel and Gran March with astounding speed led by black knights who used dark magic previously unheard of.
At any rate, the many other nations fell quickly like dominoes before the imposing power of Iuz and his allies. Rauxes had been toppled by barbarians by the time it was revealed that Iuz was behind the return of "Vatun." Nyrond barely managed to fight off Sevvord Redbeard, but much of her northern realms were razed in the process. The Sheldomar Valley fell in from the east to Turrosh Mak's army of humanoids who soon allied themselves with Iuz and from the north to Ket's dark knights and hordes of Iuz's humanoids. Even indomitable Greyhawk fell when a cult dedicated to an entity known only as the Falcon swallowed the city up from the inside. The Duchy and County of Urnst followed in rapid succession. The Lordship of the Isles, Onnwal, the Hold of the Sea Princes, Sunndi, and the See of Medegia all came under Scarlet Brotherhood control towards the end of the war, although Sunndi and Onnwal were eventually liberated by a combination of patriotic uprisings and outside aid. Redbeard and the Stonefists continued to serve Iuz, and although the Suel barbarians withdrew from the Great Kingdom, they took with them vast plunder from Rauxes and surrounding lands, leaving little but destitute feuding independent fiefdoms in their wake. Some say the Baklunish lands to the far west escaped much of the devastation, but none have been able to truly corroborate the story. In all, only a few nation states remained.
Prince Reydrich, the ruler of South Province in the Great Kingdom, managed to salvage part of his realm and proclaimed himself the new Overking with his capital in Zelradton. While Irongate managed to hold out against the Scarlet Brotherhood's predations towards the end of the war, the rest of the Iron League fared poorly. What little of Almor remained was annexed by Nyrond or Ahlissa. Nyrond, for is part, remained a shadow of its former self, forced to guard itself weakly on all fronts from potentially hostile invaders. It is rumored that the Vale of the Mage remained somehow unscathed, but since that land was little traveled anyway, the truth of such rumors are difficult to verify.
As Iuz's forces began to exhaust themselves, proposals for a unified alliance of the remaining nations met with greater and greater acceptance. However old enmities still raged between the sundered Iron League and the Scarlet Brotherhood. Nyrond did not entirely trust the new Overking in Zelradton and the free city-states of the Solnor Compact called him a pretender. Onnwal is tired of strife and wishes to resign itself from international affairs while Sunndi elves have yet to agree with the humans on a new balanced form of government, although neither have the strength to create a nation-state on their own. Meanwhile, Iuz's armies rest, regroup, and rearm, practically frothing at the mouth for the next great battle and preparing for the final drive into the only lands that could be even remotely considered free.
A shadow has fallen over the world of Oerth and Iuz's influence can be felt even in lands where he has little power. His agents spread corruption throughout the few remaining kingdoms and the taint of his evil is seen everywhere. No one can escape from the Lord of Pain's depravity. Even those known for unreproachable morality have taken to violent and dispicable acts in a haunting manner. Evil pervades society in an unnatural way, leading many to believe that end times are near. Some predict that the Dark Lord will soon return from the nether regions from which he was banished to cast all Oerth into oblivion. Others claim that salvation can be found through the Lord of the Spidered Throne who alone knows the Old One's secret weakness. Many hear these calls of doomsayers and desperately grasp for any shred of hope to rid them of the oppressive shackles of Iuz. In a chilling move indicative of the times, Iuz has had the Free City of Greyhawk renamed the City of Darkhawk and made it a regional capital in his new empire of evil.
The gods have not intervened leaving many to believe they no longer care for the fate of Oerth. Most good churches have been oppressed into near extinction or abandoned in hopelessness by their faithful. Even neutral churches struggle in these dark times. There is nary but a tiny glimpse of hope for those who wish for brighter days. There are rumors of a secretive organization whose members seek to return the Flanaess to righteousness, to purge the taint that covers the land like an open sore. But whether these rumors are true or merely the last signs of hope is open to discussion. However, there are still those who independently resist the foul power the Iuz and the spread of taint over the land, whether out of mere self-preservation or noble ideal. This is their story.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Campaign Rules
Character Creation: Use 25 point buy for ability scores. Average starting gold. The following books are required: Player's Handbook and Heroes of Horror. I recommend that players design their characters using these books in conjunction with the core rules and the Player's Handbook II, although I will allow other things on a case-by-case basis. I'm fine with most WotC material although I may consider other sources if you provide me the text of the rule you wish to use, especially if it fits the theme well. The cleric class is highly discouraged since clerics are discriminated against both inside and outside the Empire. Additionally, it is rumored there are places where conduits to deific power are inhibited although natural divine magic, such as that granted to druids, and the more recent practiced divine magic, such as that practiced by archivists, does not seem affected. The archivist from HoH is a good alternative to the cleric. PCs may follow any Greyhawk religion but Iuz, but bear in mind good and neutral temples are all-but non-existant and evil temples not dedicated to Iuz are few. Your character is not likely to belong to a church.
I reserve the right to create a list of restricted items and add to it as necessary, but if the players can police themselves and use reasonable builds this will be unnecessary.
Special Rules
This campaign uses the taint rules from Heroes of Horror. Expect to be dealing with it a lot.
To keep the game grim and gritty, I will be using the Injury system for damage from UA 113.
Sign-Up Instructions
Post here to sign up. Email me (by clicking my screen name and looking under contact info) within three days or I will give your spot to another player. I will accept up to four players and two alternates. Alternates must have character sheets ready. I may accept more players as the game progresses. As soon as I have four players and two alternates with ready characters, I will begin the campaign.
Campaign Guidelines
I log on EN World everyday so chances are I will be able to post every day. I prefer players who can post at least once a day, but if several players are unable to post that regularly, I can be flexible. Please inform me if you will unable to post for a while. Use quotations or colored text for in-character speech. Use normal text for character actions and descriptions. Use faded (grey) text for out of character conversation. No editing please.
Missing players who fail to notify me of their absence will have their PCs treated as if lost until they return. As a rule of thumb, if I can go through an entire page without seeing a single post from that player, the character is missing. Perhaps the character got lost in an alleyway or sidestreet. Maybe the character went down the wrong passage in a dungeon. You get the idea. Players who fail to notify me after more than five pages will have their characters retired from the campaign and treated as permanently lost, probably claimed by the evil taint that lurks everywhere and driven insane or killed. In such an event I will give the player's spot to the next alternate, whose character will be introduced at the nearest convenience.
For speed, combat will be handled using a semi-simultaneous combat system. At the beginning of each round, players declare their actions. I roll initiative each round and resolve actions in the most reasonable fashion. Be sure to include important qualifiers such as "if there are no enemies in range, I use total defense" or "if I cannot target at least two orcs without hitting my allies, I cast magic missile instead of fireball." But I'm not an ogre and I won't try to screw you by making poor tactical choices. I will draw tactical maps on Dundjinni and make jpegs available at the beginning of each combat round (they may be graphic-intensive but I will try to keep the size down). Players should decide on default marching/standing orders such as cross formation, echelon, line, zig-zag, etc. and inform me whenever they wish to change. Characters who wish to wander ahead of the group or on their own should note they are breaking formation to do so, otherwise, I will presume the whole group goes along.
This campaign will emphasize storytelling over tactical play. That said, a little bit of tactical forethought will not hurt you since some battles will be challenging. I will typically not use ELs higher than two levels above the party level, but do not expect the world to tailor itself to your party. Do not expect that I will make a boneheart (Iuz's most powerful followers) an EL 7 encounter just because your party is 5th level. There will be occassional encounters that you are simply not intended to fight, but may appear to be a fight anyway. You must use guile, wit, or diplomacy to make your way through these encounters, but it is up to you to figure out which encounters are the overpowering ones. Sometimes skills (like Gather Information or Sense Motive) can help you determine which encounters are appropriate for your party. The campaign will involve a mix of dungeons, wilderness, and political intrigue, so all character types can thrive. A balanced party including an arcane caster, divine caster, skill master, and fighting specialist is recommended, but not required. Horror will be an important concept throughout the campaign and there will be regular dark descriptions and depraved scenes. If you dislike mature or horrific subject matter, then this campaign is not for you. However, I will try to model the horror more after HP Lovecraft or Edgar Allen Poe than "modern" concepts of horror like Scream, Underworld, or Stephen King. Pulp can be fun, but I don't find it particularly horrific.
Heroes of Horror said:
Little is known about the exact events precipitating Iuz's ascension to power over the entire Flanaess. What few details are known is this. The Northern Alliance first swept from Stonehold to devour Tenh, and from there it proceeded like a juggernaut to overrun the Pale and breach the borders of Nyrond. Simultaneously, the Fruztii, Cruski, and Schnai laid waste to Ratik and poured into the Bone March and Northern Province in droves. The Mad Overking Ivid V, who had been preparing for an invasion of Almor to take advantage of Nyrond's distraction, was taken completely unaware as the barbarians ransacked the Great Kingdom through Ivid's back door. Meanwhile, Iuz overthrew the Heirarchs during the height of the Blood-Moon Festival and began preparations for invasion of his other neighbors to the south. King Belvor IV attempted to warn the Shield Lands, but his warnings fell on deaf ears and soon Iuz had the Shield Lands flanked with forces overruning the Bandit Kingdoms. The Shield Lands fell quickly.
What happened next is a blur in the minds of many. It is recalled that disagreements between the nations of the Sheldomar Valley led to a delay in aid from Keoland and her allies. It is also known that Turrosh Mak rising in the Pomarj distracted the Ulek states. However, it is widely believed that the turning point of the war was when Belvor suddenly fell dead while leading an elite force of knights to sunder the seige of Chendl. Whether by dark eldritch magic or cunning assassination, Chendl lost hope at the sight of its fallen regent, and the city collapsed in on itself. Iuz's forces ran amok through Chendl and decimated a relief force sent from the Gran March only days too late. Ket swept through Bissel and Gran March with astounding speed led by black knights who used dark magic previously unheard of.
At any rate, the many other nations fell quickly like dominoes before the imposing power of Iuz and his allies. Rauxes had been toppled by barbarians by the time it was revealed that Iuz was behind the return of "Vatun." Nyrond barely managed to fight off Sevvord Redbeard, but much of her northern realms were razed in the process. The Sheldomar Valley fell in from the east to Turrosh Mak's army of humanoids who soon allied themselves with Iuz and from the north to Ket's dark knights and hordes of Iuz's humanoids. Even indomitable Greyhawk fell when a cult dedicated to an entity known only as the Falcon swallowed the city up from the inside. The Duchy and County of Urnst followed in rapid succession. The Lordship of the Isles, Onnwal, the Hold of the Sea Princes, Sunndi, and the See of Medegia all came under Scarlet Brotherhood control towards the end of the war, although Sunndi and Onnwal were eventually liberated by a combination of patriotic uprisings and outside aid. Redbeard and the Stonefists continued to serve Iuz, and although the Suel barbarians withdrew from the Great Kingdom, they took with them vast plunder from Rauxes and surrounding lands, leaving little but destitute feuding independent fiefdoms in their wake. Some say the Baklunish lands to the far west escaped much of the devastation, but none have been able to truly corroborate the story. In all, only a few nation states remained.
Prince Reydrich, the ruler of South Province in the Great Kingdom, managed to salvage part of his realm and proclaimed himself the new Overking with his capital in Zelradton. While Irongate managed to hold out against the Scarlet Brotherhood's predations towards the end of the war, the rest of the Iron League fared poorly. What little of Almor remained was annexed by Nyrond or Ahlissa. Nyrond, for is part, remained a shadow of its former self, forced to guard itself weakly on all fronts from potentially hostile invaders. It is rumored that the Vale of the Mage remained somehow unscathed, but since that land was little traveled anyway, the truth of such rumors are difficult to verify.
As Iuz's forces began to exhaust themselves, proposals for a unified alliance of the remaining nations met with greater and greater acceptance. However old enmities still raged between the sundered Iron League and the Scarlet Brotherhood. Nyrond did not entirely trust the new Overking in Zelradton and the free city-states of the Solnor Compact called him a pretender. Onnwal is tired of strife and wishes to resign itself from international affairs while Sunndi elves have yet to agree with the humans on a new balanced form of government, although neither have the strength to create a nation-state on their own. Meanwhile, Iuz's armies rest, regroup, and rearm, practically frothing at the mouth for the next great battle and preparing for the final drive into the only lands that could be even remotely considered free.
A shadow has fallen over the world of Oerth and Iuz's influence can be felt even in lands where he has little power. His agents spread corruption throughout the few remaining kingdoms and the taint of his evil is seen everywhere. No one can escape from the Lord of Pain's depravity. Even those known for unreproachable morality have taken to violent and dispicable acts in a haunting manner. Evil pervades society in an unnatural way, leading many to believe that end times are near. Some predict that the Dark Lord will soon return from the nether regions from which he was banished to cast all Oerth into oblivion. Others claim that salvation can be found through the Lord of the Spidered Throne who alone knows the Old One's secret weakness. Many hear these calls of doomsayers and desperately grasp for any shred of hope to rid them of the oppressive shackles of Iuz. In a chilling move indicative of the times, Iuz has had the Free City of Greyhawk renamed the City of Darkhawk and made it a regional capital in his new empire of evil.
The gods have not intervened leaving many to believe they no longer care for the fate of Oerth. Most good churches have been oppressed into near extinction or abandoned in hopelessness by their faithful. Even neutral churches struggle in these dark times. There is nary but a tiny glimpse of hope for those who wish for brighter days. There are rumors of a secretive organization whose members seek to return the Flanaess to righteousness, to purge the taint that covers the land like an open sore. But whether these rumors are true or merely the last signs of hope is open to discussion. However, there are still those who independently resist the foul power the Iuz and the spread of taint over the land, whether out of mere self-preservation or noble ideal. This is their story.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Campaign Rules
Character Creation: Use 25 point buy for ability scores. Average starting gold. The following books are required: Player's Handbook and Heroes of Horror. I recommend that players design their characters using these books in conjunction with the core rules and the Player's Handbook II, although I will allow other things on a case-by-case basis. I'm fine with most WotC material although I may consider other sources if you provide me the text of the rule you wish to use, especially if it fits the theme well. The cleric class is highly discouraged since clerics are discriminated against both inside and outside the Empire. Additionally, it is rumored there are places where conduits to deific power are inhibited although natural divine magic, such as that granted to druids, and the more recent practiced divine magic, such as that practiced by archivists, does not seem affected. The archivist from HoH is a good alternative to the cleric. PCs may follow any Greyhawk religion but Iuz, but bear in mind good and neutral temples are all-but non-existant and evil temples not dedicated to Iuz are few. Your character is not likely to belong to a church.
I reserve the right to create a list of restricted items and add to it as necessary, but if the players can police themselves and use reasonable builds this will be unnecessary.
Special Rules
This campaign uses the taint rules from Heroes of Horror. Expect to be dealing with it a lot.
To keep the game grim and gritty, I will be using the Injury system for damage from UA 113.
Sign-Up Instructions
Post here to sign up. Email me (by clicking my screen name and looking under contact info) within three days or I will give your spot to another player. I will accept up to four players and two alternates. Alternates must have character sheets ready. I may accept more players as the game progresses. As soon as I have four players and two alternates with ready characters, I will begin the campaign.
Campaign Guidelines
I log on EN World everyday so chances are I will be able to post every day. I prefer players who can post at least once a day, but if several players are unable to post that regularly, I can be flexible. Please inform me if you will unable to post for a while. Use quotations or colored text for in-character speech. Use normal text for character actions and descriptions. Use faded (grey) text for out of character conversation. No editing please.
Missing players who fail to notify me of their absence will have their PCs treated as if lost until they return. As a rule of thumb, if I can go through an entire page without seeing a single post from that player, the character is missing. Perhaps the character got lost in an alleyway or sidestreet. Maybe the character went down the wrong passage in a dungeon. You get the idea. Players who fail to notify me after more than five pages will have their characters retired from the campaign and treated as permanently lost, probably claimed by the evil taint that lurks everywhere and driven insane or killed. In such an event I will give the player's spot to the next alternate, whose character will be introduced at the nearest convenience.
For speed, combat will be handled using a semi-simultaneous combat system. At the beginning of each round, players declare their actions. I roll initiative each round and resolve actions in the most reasonable fashion. Be sure to include important qualifiers such as "if there are no enemies in range, I use total defense" or "if I cannot target at least two orcs without hitting my allies, I cast magic missile instead of fireball." But I'm not an ogre and I won't try to screw you by making poor tactical choices. I will draw tactical maps on Dundjinni and make jpegs available at the beginning of each combat round (they may be graphic-intensive but I will try to keep the size down). Players should decide on default marching/standing orders such as cross formation, echelon, line, zig-zag, etc. and inform me whenever they wish to change. Characters who wish to wander ahead of the group or on their own should note they are breaking formation to do so, otherwise, I will presume the whole group goes along.
This campaign will emphasize storytelling over tactical play. That said, a little bit of tactical forethought will not hurt you since some battles will be challenging. I will typically not use ELs higher than two levels above the party level, but do not expect the world to tailor itself to your party. Do not expect that I will make a boneheart (Iuz's most powerful followers) an EL 7 encounter just because your party is 5th level. There will be occassional encounters that you are simply not intended to fight, but may appear to be a fight anyway. You must use guile, wit, or diplomacy to make your way through these encounters, but it is up to you to figure out which encounters are the overpowering ones. Sometimes skills (like Gather Information or Sense Motive) can help you determine which encounters are appropriate for your party. The campaign will involve a mix of dungeons, wilderness, and political intrigue, so all character types can thrive. A balanced party including an arcane caster, divine caster, skill master, and fighting specialist is recommended, but not required. Horror will be an important concept throughout the campaign and there will be regular dark descriptions and depraved scenes. If you dislike mature or horrific subject matter, then this campaign is not for you. However, I will try to model the horror more after HP Lovecraft or Edgar Allen Poe than "modern" concepts of horror like Scream, Underworld, or Stephen King. Pulp can be fun, but I don't find it particularly horrific.
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