Menu
News
All News
Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
Pathfinder
Starfinder
Warhammer
2d20 System
Year Zero Engine
Industry News
Reviews
Dragon Reflections
Columns
Weekly Digests
Weekly News Digest
Freebies, Sales & Bundles
RPG Print News
RPG Crowdfunding News
Game Content
ENterplanetary DimENsions
Mythological Figures
Opinion
Worlds of Design
Peregrine's Next
RPG Evolution
Other Columns
From the Freelancing Frontline
Monster ENcyclopedia
WotC/TSR Alumni Look Back
4 Hours w/RSD (Ryan Dancey)
The Road to 3E (Jonathan Tweet)
Greenwood's Realms (Ed Greenwood)
Drawmij's TSR (Jim Ward)
Community
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Resources
Wiki
Pages
Latest activity
Media
New media
New comments
Search media
Downloads
Latest reviews
Search resources
EN Publishing
Store
EN5ider
Adventures in ZEITGEIST
Awfully Cheerful Engine
What's OLD is NEW
Judge Dredd & The Worlds Of 2000AD
War of the Burning Sky
Level Up: Advanced 5E
Events & Releases
Upcoming Events
Private Events
Featured Events
Socials!
Twitch
YouTube
Facebook (EN Publishing)
Facebook (EN World)
Twitter
Instagram
TikTok
Podcast
Features
Top 5 RPGs Compiled Charts 2004-Present
Adventure Game Industry Market Research Summary (RPGs) V1.0
Ryan Dancey: Acquiring TSR
Q&A With Gary Gygax
D&D Rules FAQs
TSR, WotC, & Paizo: A Comparative History
D&D Pronunciation Guide
Million Dollar TTRPG Kickstarters
Tabletop RPG Podcast Hall of Fame
Eric Noah's Unofficial D&D 3rd Edition News
D&D in the Mainstream
D&D & RPG History
About Morrus
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles only
By:
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Menu
Log in
Register
Install the app
Install
Community
Playing the Game
Play by Post
Is'Merith - Campaign Thread
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="Sezarious" data-source="post: 6735801" data-attributes="member: 6792106"><p>Greetings ladies and gentlemen, please gather round; for it is I, Ikun Dracor the Bard and I am here to tell you the history of the lands far off to the east where once I travelled as a boy; of a city in the dry harsh deserts, North of the Omarsh Mountains and South of the Great Borkan Sea.</p><p> </p><p>Yes, it is a story about the great desert city of Is'Merith, once at the centre of a great empire, surrounded by lands which were lush and fertile. But alas, too good a target for the enemies of the Empire was this great city. You see the Empire was constantly attempting to expand, waging war on multiple fronts. Is'Merith was the keystone to their war effort however, for it supplied not only vast troop numbers, but the finest and most abundant variety of mineral resources in the world. To this day, that hasn't changed.</p><p> </p><p>As battles raged, alliances were forged and many resisted the Empire; these forces became known as the free armies. A war lasting just over three hundred years ended in a final push which would last for less than six months! The final twenty years that made that possible consisted of a brutal war tactic, known as the Vastatio strategy, named after Archmage Kas Vastatio who oversaw it. Through careful reconnaissance, Vastatio co-ordinated the gradual destruction and de-fertilisation of the surrounding lands.</p><p> </p><p>Under Vastatio, were hundreds of other archmagi who each commanded hundreds of powerful wizards of their own. Wizard scouts were sent out into enemy territory to magically report to their superiors when all was clear. Next, entire battalions would scry the scouts location and teleport in, then blight the land around for several miles before teleporting out. After removing the cities crops and source of food from the picture, the free armies focused all their efforts on cutting off supply lines, and starved the city half to death.</p><p> </p><p>You see, Is'Merith always was and still is a highly populated city. After just one month, cannibalism had been legalised. By the third month, murder of anyone not in the noble districts was also made legal. By the forth month, the soldiers and the nobles controlling them lost control of their populous and they were overthrown. The people emerged from the city and surrendered, their population completely at the mercy of the free armies.</p><p> </p><p>Vastatio's work wasn't quite done yet. He siphoned food in to feed the city for three months at great cost, while his wizards completely focused their efforts on the construction of a canal. This canal, 70 miles long, joined to the Great Borkan Sea to the north and with the thousands of wizards of the free army working non-stop, was constructed in just one month.</p><p> </p><p>In that one month period, Vastatio helped the cities population to re-establish their mining operations and when the canal was completed and the sea water came rushing in, so did the free armies trade ships and war ship's. Finally, Vastatio created several never-ending water wells throughout the city as he could already see that the surrounding rivers were drying up, going deep underground in a soil that simply could not hold water. Is'Merith would survive, but survive only... Eight months after Is'Merith's original surrender, the Empire was declared officially defeated.</p><p> </p><p>Today, Is'Merith has a newly established nobles court comprised of descendants of the free army. It's populous all have access to free food and medicine, provided by the churches of the sun god Pelor. The nobles above do not tax their people; instead the profits from mining mostly go towards paying for the upkeep of the city. The nobles take what's left.</p><p> </p><p>The war ended just over seven hundred years ago. But that was not the first time Is'Merith had been destroyed. They say that there is a curse on this city. That there is a cycle of some kind that cannot be broken. They say that ruins thousands of years old lie deep below its surface; that these tombs of forgotten times whisper of doom as they slowly sink deeper in to the ground.</p><p> </p><p>So, whoever you are, whatever you do for a living, however brave you are, I warn you, stay away. There is nothing there but death...</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Sezarious, post: 6735801, member: 6792106"] Greetings ladies and gentlemen, please gather round; for it is I, Ikun Dracor the Bard and I am here to tell you the history of the lands far off to the east where once I travelled as a boy; of a city in the dry harsh deserts, North of the Omarsh Mountains and South of the Great Borkan Sea. Yes, it is a story about the great desert city of Is'Merith, once at the centre of a great empire, surrounded by lands which were lush and fertile. But alas, too good a target for the enemies of the Empire was this great city. You see the Empire was constantly attempting to expand, waging war on multiple fronts. Is'Merith was the keystone to their war effort however, for it supplied not only vast troop numbers, but the finest and most abundant variety of mineral resources in the world. To this day, that hasn't changed. As battles raged, alliances were forged and many resisted the Empire; these forces became known as the free armies. A war lasting just over three hundred years ended in a final push which would last for less than six months! The final twenty years that made that possible consisted of a brutal war tactic, known as the Vastatio strategy, named after Archmage Kas Vastatio who oversaw it. Through careful reconnaissance, Vastatio co-ordinated the gradual destruction and de-fertilisation of the surrounding lands. Under Vastatio, were hundreds of other archmagi who each commanded hundreds of powerful wizards of their own. Wizard scouts were sent out into enemy territory to magically report to their superiors when all was clear. Next, entire battalions would scry the scouts location and teleport in, then blight the land around for several miles before teleporting out. After removing the cities crops and source of food from the picture, the free armies focused all their efforts on cutting off supply lines, and starved the city half to death. You see, Is'Merith always was and still is a highly populated city. After just one month, cannibalism had been legalised. By the third month, murder of anyone not in the noble districts was also made legal. By the forth month, the soldiers and the nobles controlling them lost control of their populous and they were overthrown. The people emerged from the city and surrendered, their population completely at the mercy of the free armies. Vastatio's work wasn't quite done yet. He siphoned food in to feed the city for three months at great cost, while his wizards completely focused their efforts on the construction of a canal. This canal, 70 miles long, joined to the Great Borkan Sea to the north and with the thousands of wizards of the free army working non-stop, was constructed in just one month. In that one month period, Vastatio helped the cities population to re-establish their mining operations and when the canal was completed and the sea water came rushing in, so did the free armies trade ships and war ship's. Finally, Vastatio created several never-ending water wells throughout the city as he could already see that the surrounding rivers were drying up, going deep underground in a soil that simply could not hold water. Is'Merith would survive, but survive only... Eight months after Is'Merith's original surrender, the Empire was declared officially defeated. Today, Is'Merith has a newly established nobles court comprised of descendants of the free army. It's populous all have access to free food and medicine, provided by the churches of the sun god Pelor. The nobles above do not tax their people; instead the profits from mining mostly go towards paying for the upkeep of the city. The nobles take what's left. The war ended just over seven hundred years ago. But that was not the first time Is'Merith had been destroyed. They say that there is a curse on this city. That there is a cycle of some kind that cannot be broken. They say that ruins thousands of years old lie deep below its surface; that these tombs of forgotten times whisper of doom as they slowly sink deeper in to the ground. So, whoever you are, whatever you do for a living, however brave you are, I warn you, stay away. There is nothing there but death... [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Community
Playing the Game
Play by Post
Is'Merith - Campaign Thread
Top