Jemal
Adventurer
OK lets try again...
OK, and now, finally, some DM Info on the world. I left it mostly up to you guys b/c you're the major players (Well, the 'good guy' ones), and now I can fill in the gaps.
First off, Here's what i'm getting as an image of the 'area' and Group formation.
Assuming Rauland as the 'center' of the map (I'm seeing it as being one of the large, main countries, the "Britain" of the world) West is Kadrath, and west beyond that is the great sea, on the other side of which rests Dormith.
To the north and East Lie Mountainous regions inhabited by the Alliance (Tutek's people). Beyond them to the East is the great desert, and within that desert is the Eternal Empire.
Obviously there are also a few other countries to the north of Rauland, and some to the south, though a lot of the area south of Rauland has also been overtaken by the Dormithians.
Gerard's from the Trade City(name?) which lies in the mountains, at the border of Rauland, the Alliance, and the Desert.
Mei Ying is from the Eternal Empire.
Ur was from an un-named country to the north.
Tutek is from the Alliance.
Braham is from the desert.
D'raven is on the Bazaar. *Doesn't matter for party/world backstory, he gets written in later*
SIDE NOTE : I thought I remembered reading something more about the 'storm king/lord', but I've been over the entire thread and can only find a couple short references. SO, I'm going to make "Belzer" Actually one of the Dragoons(See below)
Queendom of Dormith - About 50 years ago, after their THIRD failed invasion of Rauland, Dormith started a secret genetic weapons program. With a combination of Gnomish Science and powerful magics, they bred soldiers of draconic blood (dragonborn/dragonkith/spellscales) with great physical and magical potential. These 'children' were raised as warriors, trained and schooled relentlessly until they could best their teachers in both martial and magical prowess, before being gifted with vile demonic powers and powerful magical artifacts and set upon each other to find the best.
Finally, their labours saw fruit, with six of the 'Dragoons' having survived the rigours of the training and infighting. They were sent out into the world secretly, to work undercover for Dormith.
Two went to Rauland. Heroes disappeared, Entire companies of soldiers were wiped out by 'rogue monsters', Supernatural disasters befell the land, and more and more people were left to fend for themselves.
One of them, and his slave ring, was finally defeated by the Legion (See Ur's Background), at which point the other retreated to Kadrath.
Two went North to the Alliance in the mountains(Tutek's background), and began their plans to disrupt this Alliance, causing strife and war. They raised a small army over the years and caused a mystical draught, but were eventually beaten by the Legion and Alliance's combined might. One was killed, the other managed to escape.
One went far to the east, past Rauland, Crossing the great desert to disrupt the Eternal Empire and keep it busy until Dormith was ready to expand that far.
The sixth disappeared.
Having defeated Three of the dragoons, and stopped the Draught, the Legion, The Alliance, and Rauland join together to finally push the Dormithians from Kadrath, defeating the fourth Dragoon in the process.
During the week-long Celebration, Tutek angers a demi-god and is cast to the underworld, his companions following to save him, after which they catch onto the trail of Iridex the lich king.
It is eventually discovered that the ArchLich has hidden strongholds all across the continent, and one by one the Legion tracks down and destroys them, piecing together his plans.
For centuries, Iridex had lain imprisoned in the mountains by a powerful magical artifact...
But the Mystical Draught of the Dormithian Dragoons had been powerful indeed, as they had located and drained magic from this artifact, unknowingly releasing the ArchLich. He immediately set about restoring his once glorious empire, which had been turned to dust and sand - The Great Desert had once housed a vast empire of which he had been king, an Empire which had been destroyed by a powerful magic many centuries ago.
(The remants of which managed to salvage the small portion within the Five Pillars which became the Eternal Empire).
Driven mad by his loss and long imprisonment, Iridex meant to raze the Eternal Empire and form a new, Undead Empire. It is revealed that one of the Draoons who freed him, and Escaped the legion, has now joined him and taken the name 'Belzer the storm king".
Only the relentlessness of the Legion managing to stop him, as the heroes destroy each of his strongholds, finally chasing Belzer across the desert and finding Iridex's 'necropolis' raised from beneath the sands. They infiltrate it and destroy the ArchLich and his phylactery once and for all, mere miles from the borders of the Eternal Empire.
Finally having defeated the ArchLich, Mei Ying returns to her home strengthened and a hero, to restore her order's honour. After some grand adventuring and help from her companions, she manages to reveal that the faction opposing her return is actually under the influence of the nearly forgotten Fifth dragoon, and she challenges him to a trial, narrowly defeating him after a grueling battle.
Planar Quest Clues:
OK, so I've decided against the riddle method b/c honestly I suck at riddles, and don't want to get into the "I think it's easy you think it's hard/Vice versa" Problem.
In Lieu of that, I'm going to give you what you've figured out so far. Your characters have only managed to put all the pieces together recently, after the "Fall of the ArchLich" and "Mei Ling's Homecoming".
During their breaking of the Slave Ring, they first discover the existence of the Dragoons, and that they have been reinforced with extraplanar power. It is later discovered that some of the Power used in their 'creation' and the weapons they wielded were not any form of magic known to mortals, not Divine, nor Arcane, nor even Psionic.
The Artifact that had been holding Iridex in check was made by the same Power, the reason why the Dragoons were drawn to it in the first place, and is why they were able to harness its immense Power, though they themselves did not seem to know this, thinking it was just their natural magical talent.
Even though this artifact was shattered and almost completely drained, Iridex used what remained of his 'cage' to protect himself, even the tiny portion of Power that remained was enough to rival the most powerful magics (Mei Ying's "Iridex's cage" Vest of Archmagi)
In fact, throughout their search for Iridex, they found much of his research and writings, discovering that he was in fact the one responsible for the destruction of his Empire, as he had long ago stumbled onto the ancient Power, and in his too-rash efforts to control it, he lost everything.
A small order of monks (I'm thinking Mei-Ying's fallen order) knew of what was happening, and managed to use their small understanding of the Power to save a portion of the kingdom, raising a ring of mountains to protect them from the withering, and then entrapping the newly-undead Iridex deep in the sea. far from their domain (Not knowing that the area would eventually become inhabited).
The Fifth Dragoon had uncovered this after his assignment to the Eternal Empire, and had sought to grasp this Power for Dormith, after gaining control of one of the factions, he turned it against the order, begging the extermination. Many notes on the subject are discovered in his private quarters after he is defeated, and once they are translated, the companions are able to piece them together with the other information they've gained.
Most of the information Mei Ling's order had on the Power was lost or stolen, but Iridex and the Fifth Dragoon had both been looking for a tome that supposedly revealed much about the Power, and Mei Ling recalled an ancient story of her order about a holy book that was sent into a hidden and protected plane.
Through many divinations, consulting scholars, and pouring over the clues they had found, the Legion discovered that there were two others looking for this book, who had already left the Prime Material Plane in search of it : The missing 'Sixth Dragoon', and a powerful Vampire Lord who had allied himself with Iridex, long enough to find out about the Power and go after it himself, leaving the ArchLich to his final death at the Legion's hands.
*Some of this information came from Tutek's sentient weapon, Sendesemcal, who had just started researching the Power when he had been entrapped. He begrudgingly shared (After much cajoling and threatening) the little he knew.
After they had seemingly hit a dead end ("It's on a hidden Plane" being somewhat of a hard needle to find), the frustrated party received help from the most unlikely of sources..
Some of them had bags or portals linked to a Merchants Plane known as the Bazaar, though a business known as "Black Feather Trading", and after a few weeks at their dead end, they had discovered invitations in their bags to come to the Bazaar and discuss their situation.
OK, and now, finally, some DM Info on the world. I left it mostly up to you guys b/c you're the major players (Well, the 'good guy' ones), and now I can fill in the gaps.
First off, Here's what i'm getting as an image of the 'area' and Group formation.
Assuming Rauland as the 'center' of the map (I'm seeing it as being one of the large, main countries, the "Britain" of the world) West is Kadrath, and west beyond that is the great sea, on the other side of which rests Dormith.
To the north and East Lie Mountainous regions inhabited by the Alliance (Tutek's people). Beyond them to the East is the great desert, and within that desert is the Eternal Empire.
Obviously there are also a few other countries to the north of Rauland, and some to the south, though a lot of the area south of Rauland has also been overtaken by the Dormithians.
Gerard's from the Trade City(name?) which lies in the mountains, at the border of Rauland, the Alliance, and the Desert.
Mei Ying is from the Eternal Empire.
Ur was from an un-named country to the north.
Tutek is from the Alliance.
Braham is from the desert.
D'raven is on the Bazaar. *Doesn't matter for party/world backstory, he gets written in later*
SIDE NOTE : I thought I remembered reading something more about the 'storm king/lord', but I've been over the entire thread and can only find a couple short references. SO, I'm going to make "Belzer" Actually one of the Dragoons(See below)
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Queendom of Dormith - About 50 years ago, after their THIRD failed invasion of Rauland, Dormith started a secret genetic weapons program. With a combination of Gnomish Science and powerful magics, they bred soldiers of draconic blood (dragonborn/dragonkith/spellscales) with great physical and magical potential. These 'children' were raised as warriors, trained and schooled relentlessly until they could best their teachers in both martial and magical prowess, before being gifted with vile demonic powers and powerful magical artifacts and set upon each other to find the best.
Finally, their labours saw fruit, with six of the 'Dragoons' having survived the rigours of the training and infighting. They were sent out into the world secretly, to work undercover for Dormith.
Two went to Rauland. Heroes disappeared, Entire companies of soldiers were wiped out by 'rogue monsters', Supernatural disasters befell the land, and more and more people were left to fend for themselves.
One of them, and his slave ring, was finally defeated by the Legion (See Ur's Background), at which point the other retreated to Kadrath.
Two went North to the Alliance in the mountains(Tutek's background), and began their plans to disrupt this Alliance, causing strife and war. They raised a small army over the years and caused a mystical draught, but were eventually beaten by the Legion and Alliance's combined might. One was killed, the other managed to escape.
One went far to the east, past Rauland, Crossing the great desert to disrupt the Eternal Empire and keep it busy until Dormith was ready to expand that far.
The sixth disappeared.
Having defeated Three of the dragoons, and stopped the Draught, the Legion, The Alliance, and Rauland join together to finally push the Dormithians from Kadrath, defeating the fourth Dragoon in the process.
During the week-long Celebration, Tutek angers a demi-god and is cast to the underworld, his companions following to save him, after which they catch onto the trail of Iridex the lich king.
It is eventually discovered that the ArchLich has hidden strongholds all across the continent, and one by one the Legion tracks down and destroys them, piecing together his plans.
For centuries, Iridex had lain imprisoned in the mountains by a powerful magical artifact...
But the Mystical Draught of the Dormithian Dragoons had been powerful indeed, as they had located and drained magic from this artifact, unknowingly releasing the ArchLich. He immediately set about restoring his once glorious empire, which had been turned to dust and sand - The Great Desert had once housed a vast empire of which he had been king, an Empire which had been destroyed by a powerful magic many centuries ago.
(The remants of which managed to salvage the small portion within the Five Pillars which became the Eternal Empire).
Driven mad by his loss and long imprisonment, Iridex meant to raze the Eternal Empire and form a new, Undead Empire. It is revealed that one of the Draoons who freed him, and Escaped the legion, has now joined him and taken the name 'Belzer the storm king".
Only the relentlessness of the Legion managing to stop him, as the heroes destroy each of his strongholds, finally chasing Belzer across the desert and finding Iridex's 'necropolis' raised from beneath the sands. They infiltrate it and destroy the ArchLich and his phylactery once and for all, mere miles from the borders of the Eternal Empire.
Finally having defeated the ArchLich, Mei Ying returns to her home strengthened and a hero, to restore her order's honour. After some grand adventuring and help from her companions, she manages to reveal that the faction opposing her return is actually under the influence of the nearly forgotten Fifth dragoon, and she challenges him to a trial, narrowly defeating him after a grueling battle.
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Planar Quest Clues:
OK, so I've decided against the riddle method b/c honestly I suck at riddles, and don't want to get into the "I think it's easy you think it's hard/Vice versa" Problem.
In Lieu of that, I'm going to give you what you've figured out so far. Your characters have only managed to put all the pieces together recently, after the "Fall of the ArchLich" and "Mei Ling's Homecoming".
During their breaking of the Slave Ring, they first discover the existence of the Dragoons, and that they have been reinforced with extraplanar power. It is later discovered that some of the Power used in their 'creation' and the weapons they wielded were not any form of magic known to mortals, not Divine, nor Arcane, nor even Psionic.
The Artifact that had been holding Iridex in check was made by the same Power, the reason why the Dragoons were drawn to it in the first place, and is why they were able to harness its immense Power, though they themselves did not seem to know this, thinking it was just their natural magical talent.
Even though this artifact was shattered and almost completely drained, Iridex used what remained of his 'cage' to protect himself, even the tiny portion of Power that remained was enough to rival the most powerful magics (Mei Ying's "Iridex's cage" Vest of Archmagi)
In fact, throughout their search for Iridex, they found much of his research and writings, discovering that he was in fact the one responsible for the destruction of his Empire, as he had long ago stumbled onto the ancient Power, and in his too-rash efforts to control it, he lost everything.
A small order of monks (I'm thinking Mei-Ying's fallen order) knew of what was happening, and managed to use their small understanding of the Power to save a portion of the kingdom, raising a ring of mountains to protect them from the withering, and then entrapping the newly-undead Iridex deep in the sea. far from their domain (Not knowing that the area would eventually become inhabited).
The Fifth Dragoon had uncovered this after his assignment to the Eternal Empire, and had sought to grasp this Power for Dormith, after gaining control of one of the factions, he turned it against the order, begging the extermination. Many notes on the subject are discovered in his private quarters after he is defeated, and once they are translated, the companions are able to piece them together with the other information they've gained.
Most of the information Mei Ling's order had on the Power was lost or stolen, but Iridex and the Fifth Dragoon had both been looking for a tome that supposedly revealed much about the Power, and Mei Ling recalled an ancient story of her order about a holy book that was sent into a hidden and protected plane.
Through many divinations, consulting scholars, and pouring over the clues they had found, the Legion discovered that there were two others looking for this book, who had already left the Prime Material Plane in search of it : The missing 'Sixth Dragoon', and a powerful Vampire Lord who had allied himself with Iridex, long enough to find out about the Power and go after it himself, leaving the ArchLich to his final death at the Legion's hands.
*Some of this information came from Tutek's sentient weapon, Sendesemcal, who had just started researching the Power when he had been entrapped. He begrudgingly shared (After much cajoling and threatening) the little he knew.
After they had seemingly hit a dead end ("It's on a hidden Plane" being somewhat of a hard needle to find), the frustrated party received help from the most unlikely of sources..
Some of them had bags or portals linked to a Merchants Plane known as the Bazaar, though a business known as "Black Feather Trading", and after a few weeks at their dead end, they had discovered invitations in their bags to come to the Bazaar and discuss their situation.
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