The Five Kingdoms

First off this is a DM ONLY thread I want to keep it small so the information is readily available. I will be using this thread to post about the world that the Off to War campaign is set in. Have any questions? wish to join? then come to this thread:

http://www.enworld.org/forum/talking-talk/308120-off-war-always-recruiting-occ-year-3-a-41.html

I will be updating this thread as PC's make Knowledge checks, explore new areas, and get more into the poltics of the word (i.e. there will be a fractions list). And most importantly this will be a place I will be posting rumors heard through camp for easy refrence should someone forget where it was originally posted.

We will start July 1,2009(EST) and the campagin is open to all there will never be a stop to enlistment, as the main campaign will progress always and side quest will be made to accommodate players who are available and in play by post we can run two different quest at once.

Other threads:
http://www.enworld.org/forum/rogues-gallery/257898-rg-off-war.html
http://www.enworld.org/forum/d-d-legacy-house-rules/258313-off-war-houserules.html
http://www.enworld.org/forum/playing-game/258495-off-war-ic.html

Common Knowledge (DC0)

Here are some names of key people and places that are common knowledge.

The Great King of Brolim lives in the City of Siere, located at the heart of The Five Kingdoms it is a free city that has five gates each leading to the lands and holds of the other kingdoms.

The Five Kingdoms are:
1.Fanshaw- located out the south gate of Siere the people of Fanshaw are traders. They have coastal towns and are great merchants and sailors.
2.Norden- located out of the west gate of Siere the people of Norden are miners almost the entire kingdom can be found in the Goldhill Mountains.
3.Pesh (PC homeland)- located out of the northwest gate of Siere is mostly farmland in the Valley of Pesh with grazelands to the east and the Kingdom of Norden bordering on the south and west. The mountains extending around and to the north are inhabited by monsters kept at bay by the elven wood that makes Pesh's northern border.
4.Kurkland- located out of the northeast gate Kurkland is the largest kingdom of the five. They deal in horses and hops the wide open land suitable for both.
5.Reygur- located out of the east door of Siere this is the smallest of all the kingdoms and barely holds the name most of it's land to the south is swamp and most Reygurians don't do what is called honest work but those that do deal in dyes, inks, herbs, and whatever else they can harvest from the swamp.

Soliders of the Kingdoms

(all credit to wysiwyg) Each kingdom has their own way to bring about war and it is funny that alone they lack in certain areas and excell at others but together they make a force strong in all aspects of war.

Pesh- focus on skirmish/scouts/guerilla tactics
Norden- focus on infantry (heavy and heavier)
Fanshaw- focus artillery/crossbowmen/school of magic
Reygur- focus light infantry/pikemen/sabotage/assassins
Kurkland- focus on calvary both light and heavy

Knowledge (geography)

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Knowledge(history)

Lord Bairan's History:

[sblock=DC5]Lord Bairan was not born a lord he was a stonecutter's son who left at a young age seeking adventure. [sblock=DC10]Years later he took part in a battle against the earl Bronsk and the High King made him a lord for his courage in battle. He came to the valley of Pesh accompanied by some strange companions, they cleaned out a haunted keep then made it their own. He gained fame later by driving off the gnoll tribes who lived in the forest to the north. [/sblock][sblock=DC15]While cleaning out the undead in Settler's Keep it is rumored that Bairan lost two of his friends who helped in the Battle of the Meadow. Bairan started right away forming an army after he came back from fighting gnolls in the north. And even started what he called the irregulars a group of non-militaryy type warriors to fill in as needed.[/sblock][/sblock]

[sblock=History of the Elves...incomplete]Almost six hundred years ago all elves know together as The People (see reference... High Elves), lived on the other side of the East Wall Mountains, in lands never seen by human eyes. They were acclaimed artist, engineers, and philoispers. And their have always been to types of elves and although they do not differ in apperance or physicallity. They are seperated by views of the heart and mind.

The first group which became known as the Nandirly, or "wild creatures" in the High Elven tounge, and translates to "wild elves" in common. The Nandirly believed that The People should live intune with the world and be a part of all it's peoples even the humans to the west. They thought to live as one with stone, tree, river, and sky.

The second group who came to be known as The Treylor or "The True People" in High Elven, "high elves" in the common tonuge, sought to bend and bind the world to it's whims. The channeled water in aquadutes and built monuments of stone. Worse of all the took everything from the land and gave nothing in return stripping it of all it's resources till it was barren wasteland before moving on.

Bitter debate and civil unrest came about over the way the emporer and the senate of The People treated nature until the Nandirly could stand it no more. A leader arose amoung them named Dalinitus (see reference... Rise of Dalinitus) and he led the Nandirly west away from the lands of The Treylor. Leading his people through the Genku Pass and into the lands of Reygur.

The first humans the Nandirly ever came into contact with were the reygurians. The pass out of the mountains leads to the hook of Reygur. Though the land is disputed over between Reygur and Kurkland at every oppurtinity. And as all know the hospitality of the Reygurians not being overly fond, Dalinitus and his people were chased out of the lands of Reygur. Some say that some were even stolen and sold to southern slavers.

The remaining Nandirly fled west through Fanshaw. There they were met by honest merchants and lords, but as they had little of value they were not "granted permission" to settle into those lands. Still the Nandirly headed west and then north following the mountains of Noirden but not entering them.

It was while traveling north they encountered the site of Siere (see reference... The human/elf Treaty of Siere), not nearly the grand city it is today, but a castle on a hill with squat villiages all around. It was a trading center for The Five Kingdoms. [/sblock]

Knowledge(nobility&royalty)

[sblock=LORD BAIRAN]

[sblock=DC5]Bairan Roetir was bestowed his land and titles after heroic actions taken in the Battle of the Meadows. His house sign is the blue bear on a field of white and his men call him "The Bear". He has only had his title for three years most of which he has spent clearing out his new lands of monsters and rebuilding Settler's Keep, which was once haunted till Bairan and his companions made it habitable. [/sblock]
[sblock=DC10]It is said that King Haspen was resuced by Lord Bairan and his companions after they learned of an ambush plot. The earl Bronsk was present but manage to escape, a few days later Bairan and company found him and brought him before the king for justice. Soon after Bairan was givin a Barony on the fringes of Pesh and he and his friends left to their new home. The wildlands of Pesh proved no match for Lord Bairan's sword and he beat back the northern gnoll tribes till they fled further into the forest. The undead at Settler's keep proved to much for most of Lord Bairan's company of the four members only Lord Bairan and a wizard named Dellex (DELL-Lexs) survived. [/sblock]
[sblock=DC15]Lord Bairan is a kind and benevolent ruler, though he has not spent alot of time governing the few edicts and proclamations that have come from him have been seen as fair and just. He has since returning from his battles with the gnolls helped build up most of the villiages and towns defenses. It is know that strange people come and go from Settler's Keep, but it is contributed to his early adventuring days. Most stay on as advicers or to train the army, it is rumored that a dwarf from the south is among those who Lord Bairan calls friend.[/sblock]

[sblock=DC20]Lord Bairan did not take to being a noble, he is still a wild young andventure at heart, it is said that most of the governing is done by his advisor Dellex who is firm and demanding. With Bairan concentrating on recuriting and training the army, Dellex has been taking care of the day to day of the barony. It is rumored that one day Bairan may just give his title over to the wizard so he can go off again to fight gnolls. Early this year it is said Lord Bairan expelled many of the men he had as advisors including the dwarf Martomum Stonebreaker. They were all set up in lower postions.[/sblock][/sblock]

[sblock=DELLEX KILGRANE]

[sblock=DC5] Once and "adventure" Dellex has become advisor to Lord Bairan after he was givin a title. He is known as a strict but fair man.[/sblock]
[sblock=DC10] Recently he has been offered a postion in Siere as King Haspen of Pesh's advisor. Although he has stayed with Lord Bairan it is not known if out of loyalty or other motives. But Dellex's has traveled to Siere often. [/sblock]
[sblock=DC15] After the first attacks by the Treylor, Dellex was dispatched to Pesh to rally the lords of the land and send them on to join the Great King's army. When arriving at the estates of Lord Bairan he was give the job of seconded in command by Lord Bairan and took this posting seriously. He has been doing most of the order issuing ever since.[/sblock][/sblock]

[sblock=Valorn Family][sblock=DC5]
The Valorn family colors are green and white. The their crest is a green tree on a feild of white to one side partially hidin is the sun and on the other is a crest moon. The Barony of Valorn is young the first baron died not long ago and the second (and current baron) is the late baron's son.[/sblock]
[sblock=DC10]
Vir Valorn is the current head of the Valorn family, he reside's in Harkon Manor which was renamed after his late father. Harkon Manor was founded in the northern most reaches of the Kingdom of Pesh to both start trade from the elven realm of Greenleaf and to defend against a northern invasion. The barony is self-suffient and sends trade goods of wool, grain, and steel weapons to all parts of the Five Kingdoms.[/sblock]
[sblock=DC15]
Within the past year the elves of Greenleaf have stopped trading and communicating with Harkon Manor, they just stopped suddenly and without warning. In the past elves would bring craft goods (wood carvings and the like) and fine woven cloth to Harkon for trade. Emissaries have been sent to speak with the elves but they are never found, some believe the elves moved from the area. It has been over a year since the last time anyone saw an elf.[/sblock]
[sblock=DC20]
Rumor has it that Vir's sister gave birth to a half-elf and this is one of the reasons the elves have withdrawn into their forest. Even if the rumor is untrue the threat of such a thing happening could cause the elves to forgo human contact. The area around Harkon Manor is full of hostile creatures and areas. It has survived do to it's never give up nature and the strong arm of Vance Valorn (Vir's younger brother) a capable warrior who has faught gnolls, monsters, and even the dead. The Valorn family is a tight knit group that knows it is best to work together to accomplish a goal, living out on the northern frontier has made them all very close. [/sblock][/sblock]

Knowledge(religion)

[sblock=Cambi]
Cambiare Rotta: Italian for "to change course, to change route".

Symbol: A star above water.
Domain: Travel, luck, and commerce.
Align: NG.
Dogma: Change is inevitable. Luck favors the bold. Avenge freedom and rescue liberty.
Appearance: A female faerie riding a small fish.

Overview:The god of change, Cambi delights in freedom, trade, travel, and adventure. Her temples are few in civilized lands, but her wayside shrines
appear throughout the world. Travelers, merchants, and all types of adventurers are drawn to her worship, and many people raise a glass in her honor, viewing her as the god of luck.

Bardic Song:
She wears leaves in her hair to master the wind.
She wears a white robe for she never has sinned.
She holds a small fish to master the sea.
She holds a small smile for which to bless me.
She takes a small spear to master the beast.
She takes the first bite at every high-feast.
Love her or leave her is any man's guess.
But leave her a gift, for safety is best. [/sblock]
[sblock=notes]
Brend of Harkon Manor worship's Devolin

Patron Deity: Sannaya (Intermediate Deity, Goddess of Redemption, Forgiveness and Purification. Depicted as a white blond, skinny girl, with water and purifying light streaming fort from her outstretched palms)

Otehaer= goddess worshipped by Fallon
Martomum mentioned a dwarf goddess (with a beard) in spider's path[/sblock]

Bear's Victory

This is the story of how Lord Bairan came to rule as told by Fallon around the campfire one night.

[sblock=Story]

Almost a year after the Battle of the Meadows Barian, Dellex, Martomum, and I stayed at the captial Siere. We were guest of the King Haspen of Pesh as we had helped to stop the ambush that would have killed him and all his men. But that is a tale for another day, what is important is that Bear was the hero of that battle, Martomum was hurt and I was trying to help him. Dellex was exhausted and wounded and Bear was like a hero of old coming to our rescue and that of the kings.

So it was to him the top prize went to when the king (Haspen) wanted to reward us, Bear was givin a strip of land no one else wanted and told that if he could tame it, it would be his to one day be king over. Well Bear was ready to refuse that offer but Dellex talked him into it like he talks him into everything.

So we came to are little "barony" and found the castle in ruins and over run by the undead and the villagers being attacked by bands of gnolls constantly. Will Bear couldn't have been happier after almost a year of city life we were back to adventuring. The gnolls proved any easy fight and we even negotiated with them to pull back further north and they agreed after we did a favor for them, but that is another story for another day.

Taking back Settler's Keep cost me and Martomum much of are life force and we have never fully recovered. When plans to storm the castle a second time were planned Dellex said we were a liability in are "condition" so we should not even try to help. Bairan sided with him and the two of them went in and won together. Martomum believes Delllex held back the first time or prepared himself better the second. But who is to say what happened after that, it was if Dellex was right and we were a liability and everytime me or Martomum tried to help or offer advice it was as if it was coming from some greenie. We may be lessend in our poweress in battle, but are minds are the same and we could still help in other ways and we proved it when we helped with the gnolls.

One day Martomum went to the castle and straight to Bear himself because Dellex said he was always busy, but he was there and Bear embraced him like a long lost friend I believe Dellex purposesly tries to keep us away and is also somehow manipulating Bear but we can't get close to him. It is if the old wizard has casted a spell and are friend is no longer there. We try to stay quiet to keep out of sight so we can still watch and be near if needed. [/sblock]

Circle Fights

It is common knowledge that circle fighting is both a sport and a means of gathering justice. The former has taken on the role of a gambler's game and the latter has become more of a 'might makes right' practice that has been lossing ground with the common folk. This activity can be found throughout the Five Kingdoms in one form or another with only slightly different rules, mostly made do to kingdom you are in.

The story of how Bairan became Chieftain of the Forest Gnolls as told by Martomum Stonebreaker (translated for easy reading)

[sblock=Story]
It was a long time ago when last I was in these woods, I can say for sure that there was no grey in my beard. The four of us (Fallon, Bairan, Dellex, and Martomum) were sent here to stop the gnoll menace. And they were a menace to all who lived near these woods, or tried to make a living from the forest. Well we first entered and tromped around for two days without ever finding any gnolls, and we ended up on the other side near Harkon Manor. It was there we learned of the raids and all we had to do was wait and the gnolls they would come to us. We decided to go out to a farm and wait for a gnoll raid and sure enough that night they attacked.

During the raid we took a captive and got out of him the location of the gnolls main camp. Ready to wipe them out we set out with our captive to end our quest. It took three days to get there and during that time Bear would talk with Bark's Loud (the captive), I think old Bear started to like the dog-man. Well it came to be that we were ambushed and surrounded by over twenty of them, all with arrows pointed at us. And naturally we surrendered and were takin to the camp as captives.

That evening they lit a huge bonfire and savagely danced around it, yipping and howling at the moon. During this ceremony Bark's Loud came to talk to us, seems he took a liking to Bear, he told us the only way to escape was for Bear to challenge the Gnoll Chieftain Dead Moon. If Bear were to lose his last wish would be grant, and he could wish us to be freed. If Bear won then as chieftain he could order whatever he wanted to be done with the prisoners. I watched as Bear and Dead Moon fought around that fire, a battle not only of muscle and steel, but of heart and courage as well.

Bear killed Dead Moon and became Chieftain and it was his first taste of what it was like to rule, then like now he hated it. We spent almost six months living with the gnolls and learning about them. And when Bear believed he had taught them enough to support themselves without raiding and stealing, he appointed a good hunter named Quick Dart to rule the gnolls in Bear's name. We never returned to these woods till now. [/sblock]