3.5 – Sentinels of Evermere [FULL]

3.5 – Sentinels of Evermere [FULL]

CAMPAIGN INTRODUCTION

The Evermere Forest stretches from the slopes of the Vanguard mountains to the lowlands of the western expanse. It is a timeless place with a stark, simple beauty. Verdant trees tower overhead, their boughs pierced by shafts of filtered sunlight. Along the forest floor, mist slithers among a carpeting of flowers, ferns, grass and brush. The wind whispers of ages past in a voice of rustling leaves.

For the Elves of Evermere, the forest is the foundation of their very existence. Their lives are marked not by the passage of years, but by the cycle of growth, death and renewal of the trees around them.

But the world beyond the edge of the forest is a constant threat which worsens day-by-day. The lands of men are in chaos, embroiled in a brutal civil war that is spilling across the borders of the Evermere. Elsewhere, beasts of dark magic prowl the woods, while tribes of evil humanoids prey upon Elven outposts and seek to acquire the riches hidden within the forest’s depths.

The Sentinels of Evermere are the first line of defense against these forces. They are the elite watchers of the woods, sworn to protect their Elven brethren and the sanctity of their domain. They have devoted their lives to turning back the darkness, to maintaining the lifeblood of the forest.

If they fail, everything their people hold sacred will be lost.

Ready to join the Sentinels? Check out the next post for an overview of the game....

Current Player Status:
The game is now full. Here's the list of players. I'll start taking PC's sumbissions from 1-5, and the 2 back-ups will be the first in-line if we have any drop-outs.

1 - Garyh (possibly a wood elf or wild elf ranger - character submitted)
2 - semmarin (wood elf rogue - character submitted)
3 - Thanee (human druid - character submitted)
4 - Douane (high elf fighter - character submitted)
5 - Tokiwong (bard - need character)
Backup - Inez Hull
​

Welcome to Sentinels of Evermere! This will be a play-by-post game with a heavy emphasis on role-playing and intrigue—not to mention the occasional opportunity to inflict some punishment via your favorite weapon or spell. The players are members of an Elven militia squad tasked with protecting the sacred woodlands in which they live.

Players should enjoy narrative writing. Posts should be made primarily in prose form (except for OOC tactics and questions, of course), but don't need to be lengthy (unless warranted). I intend on posting most every day and perhaps even twice-a-day on many days if the players can keep up. I’ll be providing some nice “extras” in the game, including some cool combat maps.

I will handle all necessary dice rolls, but I will try to keep “game speak” and roll results separate from the narrative. For combat, I will encourage the players to submit their intended actions with as many contingences and strategies as possible so that we can move through more than 1 round at a time.

Warning: I intend on letting the dice fall where they may, but if your PC dies you’ll of course be able to create a new character and jump back in.

CHARACTER CREATION GUIDELINES

System
Rules are DnD 3.5. No real house rules to speak of.

Number of Players
I will accept up to 5 players, and two back-ups.

Starting Level
Characters start at 2nd level.

Ability Points
28 point-buy (as per the DMG).

Races
The party should consist entirely of elves, except for perhaps 1 half-elf and 1 person of another race (in which case your back-story would have to include how you came to live with and be accepted by the Elves). The wild elf and wood elf subraces from the MM will also be permitted.

Classes
Core classes from the PHB only. All classes will probably fit the milieu, except perhaps Paladins. I’d recommend that we try to assemble a fairly balanced party, as you will probably face some diverse challenges. Multi-classing is fine.

Feats and Skills
PHB Feats and skills only

Alignment
No evil characters.

Religion
For the sake of simplicity, we'll say that the Elves of Evermere can adhere to the standard DnD pantheons (i.e. Ehlonna and Corellon would be appropriate). However, because of their close ties to the forest, many of the Elves in this region have a naturalist philosophy that is not dependent upon a diety. They view the Evermere as a spirit--a living spirit which they are a part of. Some of the Elves might be somewhat fanatical in this view, and these will tend to be the more radical and pro-isolationist members of the community.

Equipment
Purchase up to 250gp in armor, weapons, equipment and sundries. The Elves of Evermere are a barter society, so you will not be carrying any coin at first. You might consider giving your PC some skill in a craft or profession to add to your bartering arsenal. However, the Sentinels are generally well-supported by the community and you shouldn’t go hungry (hopefully!).

Back-story
I’ll hope to receive a good back-story for each PC, but please don’t post this back-story with your character stats. The PC’s will be a newly-formed team and a little bit of mystery is a good thing. Your back-story should be revealed naturally to the other PC’s through your actions and dialogue. A simple description of your character will suffice for now. I’ll arrange to get your full back-stories through email.

That’s it! Let me know if you’re interested in playing, if you have any questions, and what sort of PC you might want to run. I fully intend on making this a long-term, very active game, so please don’t apply unless you are prepared to devote a bit of time and energy to it.

Here's the type of map we'll be using to resolve combat in the game (reduced in size for the sake of bandwidth friendliness in this post). Each PC in the game will have their own icon.

That said, combat will not be the focus but I find that a good, clear combat grid will help to move things along.

Hi, mackenson! Welcome to Talking the Talk.

I'm interested in playing a ranger. Are the subraces from the Monster Manual availible? If so, I'm interested in either a Wild or Wood elf. If not, the PHB elf will be fine.

Two things I wanted to mention:

1 - NICE map!

2 - Check the Play by Post FAQ in my sig, if you're new to PbP gaming. Hopefully, it'll help you out a bit.

This game looks to have a lot of potential!

garyh said:

Hi, mackenson! Welcome to Talking the Talk.

I'm interested in playing a ranger. Are the subraces from the Monster Manual availible? If so, I'm interested in either a Wild or Wood elf. If not, the PHB elf will be fine.

Click to expand...

Hi, Garyh. Thanks for your response!

Actually, I didn't consider the Elven subraces from the MM, but it would actually be a good idea to include those, and would add a nice dynamic to the game since the party will be primarily a single race. I'll have to do a bit of work on the campaign setting to justify the presence of different sub-races within the Evermere, but I think it will be worth it.

So ... short answer ... wild elf or wood elf would be fine. I will edit my original post.

Thanks also for your welcome to the board. In terms of pbp gaming, I actually ran several successful pbp games in the early (pre-internet) days of AOL, but have decided to get back into it since it's so difficult to find a local game. Your FAQ is great though, and was a nice reference for me when I was considering starting up a game.

Glad to have you aboard!

This sounds great! I'm in!

And since Garyh took the Ranger already, I'll consider something along the lines of Wizard... or perhaps Cleric or Druid.

Oh, and the map is really cool.

Edit: One more question, would playing a gray elf be a possibility?

psychognome said:

This sounds great! I'm in!

And since Garyh took the Ranger already, I'll consider something along the lines of Wizard... or perhaps Cleric or Druid.

Oh, and the map is really cool.

Edit: One more question, would playing a gray elf be a possibility?

Click to expand...

Welcome aboard, psychognome. Glad to have you.

Gray elf ... hmmm ... I think I'd like to keep it to high elves, wood elves and wild elves. Gray elves don't seem to fit the setting as much, and I don't want the party to become a complete mish-mash of elven races. That said, if you are really eager to play a gray elf and can give me a good backstory for why he decided to come out of his lofty perch and live with the lower elves down in the woods, I'd be open to it.

Thanks for the compliment on the map. I like to try to bring a little bit of the tabletop experience online, and I think visuals help

Cheers!

mackenson said:

Welcome aboard, psychognome. Glad to have you.

Gray elf ... hmmm ... I think I'd like to keep it to high elves, wood elves and wild elves. Gray elves don't seem to fit the setting as much, and I don't want the party to become a complete mish-mash of elven races. That said, if you are really eager to play a gray elf and can give me a good backstory for why he decided to come out of his lofty perch and live with the lower elves down in the woods, I'd be open to it.

Thanks for the compliment on the map. I like to try to bring a little bit of the tabletop experience online, and I think visuals help

Cheers!

Click to expand...

Alright, that sounds reasonable. As for a character, I'm considering a high elf Bard or Cleric at the moment. What kind of a religious tradition do the elves of Evermere have? Do they worship the D&D gods, or do they have more of a druidic tradition?

Good to be in.

psychognome said:

Alright, that sounds reasonable. As for a character, I'm considering a high elf Bard or Cleric at the moment. What kind of a religious tradition do the elves of Evermere have? Do they worship the D&D gods, or do they have more of a druidic tradition?

Good to be in.

Click to expand...

For the sake of simplicity, we'll say that the Elves of Evermere can adhere to the standard DnD pantheons (i.e. Ehlonna and Corellon would be appropriate). However, because of their close ties to the forest, many of the Elves in this region have a naturalist philosophy that is not dependent upon a diety. They view the Evermere as a spirit--a living spirit which they are a part of. Some of the Elves might be somewhat fanatical in this view, and these will tend to be the more radical and pro-isolationists of the community.

Good question, and I will add my response to the game introduction. Thanks!

I am willing to play, the setting sounds cool. I've never played a PbP game before if thats ok with you? Also, id be posting at wierd hours for about the next two months since im in Iraq right now. Let me know if thats ok.

i'll play an elven bard or whatever else is open