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
General Tabletop Discussion
*Dungeons & Dragons
[Let's Read] The Koryo Hall of Adventures
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="Libertad" data-source="post: 8295401" data-attributes="member: 6750502"><p style="text-align: center"><img src="https://i.imgur.com/bsrP80s.png" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /></p> <p style="text-align: center"><strong>Chapter 5, Part 4: Daewanguk</strong></p><p></p><p>Covering the entire eastern peninsula of the Jeosung region, the kingdom known as Daewanguk has its origins in being rebuilt by Käl after the Winds of Darkness. Looking back at older kingdoms for inspiration, the yangban system was reinstated to ensure a revival of Second Age culture. The once-fractured lands united under a single king supported by levels of yangban families descended from those who performed acts of heroism in the Retaking of the Lands. The most powerful families were those both skilled and lucky enough to invest in entrepreneurial enterprises. The exaltation of education, especially among the upper class, helped save many old forms of art and lore from being forgotten to the mists of time, and its economic power instilled a sense of pride.</p><p></p><p>Yet such a system came at a cost. Käl was a great war-time ruler, but he had little expertise in peacetime. Various factions jockeyed for his ear, with the Shadows of the North feeling that the yangban were perverting their founder’s dream. Eventually they broke off, renaming themselves the Eyes of Käl and acting against the ruling throne in acts of terror and sabotage. As of Daewanguk today, it is unified on the surface, but the once-lofty ideals of scholarship and wisdom have been perverted into the jockeying of power. The rich seek to ascend the exams and thus their place in society by knocking others down, and many commoners stop at nothing for their progeny to be elevated to a higher social standing. The government traditionally had a nomination system where the most powerful yangban families formed the Hwabaek Council. Traditionally said council used to vote on who among their number should be king, but the former King Sinmun moved to a new one where familial blood of the current king determines the nation’s ruler. Needless to say, this has earned his family and the current King Songdok no small number of enemies.</p><p></p><p>As for magic and schooling, the system used for educating the populace in cantrips is legal, although many yangban are doing their best to prevent commoners from learning too much. The government maintains the illusion of “anyone can be someone” by operating special schools which are theoretically open to anyone, but only ever elevate a few successful test-takers to be granted cushy administrative positions. As for religious practices, Purism is highly favored by the ruling class and temples and monks of such practices receive generous support. Shamanism is present, most often in a form of divination known as Saju reading favored by people who for various reasons find Purism to not be giving them the answers they seek. Shamans are discouraged from displaying their powers too openly, so the Soengsucheong Agency doesn’t have much official representation barring the southernmost city of Saro.</p><p></p><p><strong>Imjeong Province</strong> is the northernmost region of Daewanguk, its proximity to Noonnara giving it a frontier feel. The city of Tanchön was built around the remnants of a fortified castle, and is now home to a thriving black market known as the Backyard and a hidden cursed temple that is the headquarters for the Sect of Changjo. This shrine of wickedness is warded by spiritual energy, capable of removing the memories of intruders in addition to more mundane defenses such as pit traps and treacherous cliff pathways.</p><p></p><p>The other major feature of Imjeong is Hugak Swamp, home to many bands of dokkaebis as well as a hidden village of evil mages known as Kapeunsoom. They are more than eager to kill and enslave anyone coming through unannounced or disappeared without consequence, and there’s a rumor that an evil counterpart to the Koryo Hall of Adventures is being built here.</p><p></p><p><strong>Hwanghai Province</strong> centers around the Muji Forest, sprawling bamboo woodlands home to various bandit gangs fighting each other over territory and harassing passing travelers. Towns on both the northern and southern ends of the forest see heavy traffic on the Scholars’ Road, where many students travel to the city of Gomnaru and are always in need of adventurers for safe escorts. The bandits themselves have some rather gimmicky themes, such as “gentlemen thieves” of unflappable dispositions, wood elves who claim that they’re saving up purloined funds to build ships to sail back to their homeland, and rejects from other gangs who aren’t too bright but make up for it with brutal straightforwardness.</p><p></p><p>Other interesting locations include the Kusäng military camp which recently cut off all contact with the rest of Daewanguk, causing many to fear the takeover of a hostile group such as the Eyes of Käl; the besieged town of Kyochä whose heavy traffic on the Scholar’s Road is counterbalanced by the stress and paranoia from the nearby villainous groups previously mentioned; the town of Sakju whose lord is little more than a heavy-handed tyrant who squeezes every bit of coin from an oppressed populace; the surprisingly undisciplined military base/town of Sukchön whose position on the Endless Sea was for guarding against seaborne enemies from prior eras; and Gamsija Island, a set of ruins dating from the Winds of Darkness which give off an eerie green glow and has resisted all attempts at being retaken.</p><p></p><p><strong>Donggyeong Province</strong> is the central crossroads of Daewanguk. The port city of Huju is a diverse place which is paradoxically discriminatory of outside influence. It is also notable for being the headquarters of the Gomnaru Port Authorities instead of Gomnaru city proper due to said organization wanting to move further out of the crown’s influence. You’d think that they’d rename themselves then. Huju’s other major attraction is the Hwangak College of Magic, and its storied halls have a tradition of churning out Daewanguk’s best court mages and supernatural advisors.</p><p></p><p><img src="https://i.imgur.com/16evdqh.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /></p><p></p><p>Gomnaru is the capital city of Daewanguk, sitting on the peninsula’s central-eastern shores. Its urban planning is shaped like a drawn-back bow, with the “arrow” being a long road that runs from the ocean-side ports to the river-linked Inner Port. The city is huge, being separated into districts, and various functions of state are overseen by members of the Hwabaek Council. The seaside districts see the most travel from realms beyond Jeosung, most often coming as traders with unique goods. Such outsiders are forced to trade in a single well-guarded port area, not entirely trusted by the government, which has given rise to no small amount of hidden smugglers’ caches to get around such restrictions.</p><p></p><p>Gomnaru is also home to a unique martial art known as Ssireum, a grappling and throw-focused fighting style that arose as one-on-one dueling between tribal leaders to avoid larger-scale bloody wars. Nowadays it is mostly done for entertainment, although its practitioners still take it seriously and pay homage to a primordial bear spirit to impart upon them strength and skill in matches.</p><p></p><p><img src="https://i.imgur.com/7dE4wXf.png" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /></p><p></p><p>Other interesting places in Donggyeong include the Ruins of Palgeun Milae, a moss-ridden ruined military camp and temple to the old gods whose latest round of investigators and delvers have met various deaths; Dr. Lee Jaema’s Provincial Clinic, a former court physician who sought to dedicate his craft to treating more esoteric diseases; the Shrine of Infinite Emptiness, whose original purpose and faith is of unknown origin but agents of the Sect of Changjo seek to study it; the seven-story Dudanjeol Shrine which is home to the Sect of Yoggu Haneul, its trials of enlightenment ruses by its leader to enchant and blackmail Jeosung’s rich and powerful; the large and prestigious Haedong Yonggungsa Temple, which has been compromised to act as a propaganda distribution center for the king; and Pyeonghwa Peak, a mountain range dotted by many small and isolated shrines and whose entire region has a seemingly supernatural phenomena where travelers and inhabitants feel an aura of peace. This even affects unintelligent and supernaturally evil creatures, causing some to theorize that the mountains were home to the first communities of Heavenly Beings. There’s also the Shrine of Ondal, home to a magically-petrified soldier who is the center of a local legend. In life he was overlooked by female suitors who sought richer and more handsome husbands, but is now immortalized for saving his unit by taking the blow from an enemy commander’s petrifying sword by keeping the blade within his body as he turned to stone.</p><p></p><p>The southern <strong>Eondok Province</strong> is filled with beautiful forests and rolling hills, a land favored by artists and other pursuers of the creative spirit. Gaeul forest is magically stuck in a state of eternal autumn, and its origins are unknown yet still being studied. Jangseung* with dragonborn features can be found throughout, and the local dragonborn who live here are xenophobic and take pains to go unnoticed. The fertile farmlands of Ssalbada are the breadbasket, or rather rice basket, of Daewanguk. They were well-defended due to their vital necessity for the kingdom, although its soldier protectors of the Ssalbada Rice Farmer’s Guild are less concerned about the welfare of the farmers than the crops they grow. The town of Ilsijeok is the largest community in the area, a settlement seemingly made entirely out of bamboo scaffolding, staircases, and structures that somehow keep from falling. A fast-growing fishing village of Buldotäng seems all too strange, and its inhabitants are believed to either be ruled over by dokkaebis or are actually such monsters in disguise. In a more isolated region of the province is another village fallen on supernatural hard times: Hongju has been taken over by a traveling monk who brutally slain the local lord that graciously offered him hospitality, and a heavy fog and supernatural silence has hung over the community ever since. Another place stricken by evil magic are the Cursed Plains of Kyeoltuji, expanses of empty grassland whose trees grow no leaves and the bodies of fallen soldiers from a long-ago battle are preserved by supernatural means.</p><p></p><p>*term for special totems erected at the edges of villages to ward off evil spirits.</p><p></p><p>Wow, it seems like Eondok has been dealt a bad hand! But its last two locations are seeing brighter days. The Tree of Exaltation has a shrine built around it by Daewanguk’s only registered shamanic organization. Hundreds of smaller intertwining trees link up with the larger tree, bent into shapes resembling the bodies of dancing shamans. The community exists as a support group for shamans who are unable to find formal training and mentorship in their hometowns. The town of Saro is the southernmost community of Daewanguk, a sort of artist’s retreat where buildings are built to allow for the flow of comfortable breezes through them, and its urban planning is deliberately designed to encourage the proximity and interaction between social classes. A large park-like field is reserved for people to practice painting, music, reading, and other such pursuits, and is notable for being the only community where the Seongsucheong Agency operates an office openly.</p><p></p><p><img src="https://i.imgur.com/4Iu9rUG.png" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /></p><p></p><p>The GM Tips section advises making use of the reputation system provided within this book. Even if the PCs are commoners, Daewanguk in general is much more regimented than the more freefaring realms of Mudangguk and Noonnara, and their actions can bar them from even meeting with and visiting certain NPCs and locations. This cuts both ways, as the competitive politicking often means that altruistic deeds for one group inevitably raise the ire of another.</p><p></p><p>There are 10 sample Deed adventure hooks, and barring 2 exceptions they are all gated off based on Reputation for Heroes or Scoundrels only. The only ones open to both are working as security during a festival in Gomnaru due to reports of Eyes of Käl activity, and a Desperate Measure in saving the people of Hongju. The hero deeds are the standard variety for fantasy adventurers: escorting a scholar to Gomnaru, investigating the strange happenings at the Kusäng military base, investigating a malfunctioning Chilseong gate, defending a village from bandits, and locating a missing person and a traveling group of yangbans is suspected. The scoundrel deeds include an assassination attempt on a target who is only disclosed by a contact in person, infiltrating a military camp to learn of its weaknesses, and a third assassination attemp of a competing yangban. Some of the hero deeds feel like they don’t need sufficient morality to do, but having two-thirds of scoundrel deeds being assassination missions is rather unimaginative.</p><p></p><p>But as for the NPCs, we got a lot of entries: 1 major and 34 minor! The major character is Naemul Minsu, the non-binary elven ruler of Saro teaching daily music lessons with an apprentice. The minor entries are numerous, covering a wide amount of who’s who in Daewanguk. They range from the head shaman of the Sect of Changjo who views herself as a chosen prophet but must be carried by a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Litter_(vehicle)" target="_blank">litter</a> due to failing health, King Songdok whose increasing paranoia is sending him into a self-defeating spiral, and the Saju reader Doha who is well-known for the accuracy of her readings but is suspected of putting contracts on those who compete with or criticize her.</p><p></p><p>Another notable thing about this entry is a large amount of non-binary NPCs. Although a CTRL F search reveals around 13 such characters, 9 of them are in Daewanguk (2 each in the previous realm entries). The book denotes their entries as “androgyn,” and makes use of Spivak pronouns for them (e/eir/em).</p><p></p><p><strong>Thoughts So Far:</strong> In comparison to the previous realms Daewanguk doesn’t really jump out at me. I’ll admit that this is mostly due to being so used to feudal aristocracies in fantasy gaming that it feels like a return to form after the entries on Mudangguk and Noonnara. But such countries are more the exception than the norm, and I can understand having a more classically familiar society to contrast against the more novel entries. In spite of being the most “civilized” realm of Jeosung, there’s still an awful lot of wilderness dungeon-crawl areas to have adventures in, which is a plus in my book. While there’s plenty of greedy and oppressive nobles to oppose, there’s a relative lack of yangban family dynasties and relationship trees that I’d expect in such a realm. There are a lot of NPCs, but most of the conflict seems to stem more from pre-determined organizations such as the Sect of Changjo or more local troubles. Daewanguk is perfectly serviceable as a realm for wandering adventurers with a backdrop of scheming nobility rather than the scheming being a central plot. This isn’t objectively good or bad, but more a subjective taste that I still feel is worth pointing out to readers. I wished that we got more text on the “evil adventuring academy” in Hugak Swamp; sounds like a great excuse to pit rival adventuring parties against the PCs.</p><p></p><p><strong>Join us next time as we visit the final realm of Jeosung, the authoritarian Hermit Kingdom of Haenamguk!</strong></p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Libertad, post: 8295401, member: 6750502"] [center][img]https://i.imgur.com/bsrP80s.png[/img] [b]Chapter 5, Part 4: Daewanguk[/b][/center] Covering the entire eastern peninsula of the Jeosung region, the kingdom known as Daewanguk has its origins in being rebuilt by Käl after the Winds of Darkness. Looking back at older kingdoms for inspiration, the yangban system was reinstated to ensure a revival of Second Age culture. The once-fractured lands united under a single king supported by levels of yangban families descended from those who performed acts of heroism in the Retaking of the Lands. The most powerful families were those both skilled and lucky enough to invest in entrepreneurial enterprises. The exaltation of education, especially among the upper class, helped save many old forms of art and lore from being forgotten to the mists of time, and its economic power instilled a sense of pride. Yet such a system came at a cost. Käl was a great war-time ruler, but he had little expertise in peacetime. Various factions jockeyed for his ear, with the Shadows of the North feeling that the yangban were perverting their founder’s dream. Eventually they broke off, renaming themselves the Eyes of Käl and acting against the ruling throne in acts of terror and sabotage. As of Daewanguk today, it is unified on the surface, but the once-lofty ideals of scholarship and wisdom have been perverted into the jockeying of power. The rich seek to ascend the exams and thus their place in society by knocking others down, and many commoners stop at nothing for their progeny to be elevated to a higher social standing. The government traditionally had a nomination system where the most powerful yangban families formed the Hwabaek Council. Traditionally said council used to vote on who among their number should be king, but the former King Sinmun moved to a new one where familial blood of the current king determines the nation’s ruler. Needless to say, this has earned his family and the current King Songdok no small number of enemies. As for magic and schooling, the system used for educating the populace in cantrips is legal, although many yangban are doing their best to prevent commoners from learning too much. The government maintains the illusion of “anyone can be someone” by operating special schools which are theoretically open to anyone, but only ever elevate a few successful test-takers to be granted cushy administrative positions. As for religious practices, Purism is highly favored by the ruling class and temples and monks of such practices receive generous support. Shamanism is present, most often in a form of divination known as Saju reading favored by people who for various reasons find Purism to not be giving them the answers they seek. Shamans are discouraged from displaying their powers too openly, so the Soengsucheong Agency doesn’t have much official representation barring the southernmost city of Saro. [b]Imjeong Province[/b] is the northernmost region of Daewanguk, its proximity to Noonnara giving it a frontier feel. The city of Tanchön was built around the remnants of a fortified castle, and is now home to a thriving black market known as the Backyard and a hidden cursed temple that is the headquarters for the Sect of Changjo. This shrine of wickedness is warded by spiritual energy, capable of removing the memories of intruders in addition to more mundane defenses such as pit traps and treacherous cliff pathways. The other major feature of Imjeong is Hugak Swamp, home to many bands of dokkaebis as well as a hidden village of evil mages known as Kapeunsoom. They are more than eager to kill and enslave anyone coming through unannounced or disappeared without consequence, and there’s a rumor that an evil counterpart to the Koryo Hall of Adventures is being built here. [b]Hwanghai Province[/b] centers around the Muji Forest, sprawling bamboo woodlands home to various bandit gangs fighting each other over territory and harassing passing travelers. Towns on both the northern and southern ends of the forest see heavy traffic on the Scholars’ Road, where many students travel to the city of Gomnaru and are always in need of adventurers for safe escorts. The bandits themselves have some rather gimmicky themes, such as “gentlemen thieves” of unflappable dispositions, wood elves who claim that they’re saving up purloined funds to build ships to sail back to their homeland, and rejects from other gangs who aren’t too bright but make up for it with brutal straightforwardness. Other interesting locations include the Kusäng military camp which recently cut off all contact with the rest of Daewanguk, causing many to fear the takeover of a hostile group such as the Eyes of Käl; the besieged town of Kyochä whose heavy traffic on the Scholar’s Road is counterbalanced by the stress and paranoia from the nearby villainous groups previously mentioned; the town of Sakju whose lord is little more than a heavy-handed tyrant who squeezes every bit of coin from an oppressed populace; the surprisingly undisciplined military base/town of Sukchön whose position on the Endless Sea was for guarding against seaborne enemies from prior eras; and Gamsija Island, a set of ruins dating from the Winds of Darkness which give off an eerie green glow and has resisted all attempts at being retaken. [b]Donggyeong Province[/b] is the central crossroads of Daewanguk. The port city of Huju is a diverse place which is paradoxically discriminatory of outside influence. It is also notable for being the headquarters of the Gomnaru Port Authorities instead of Gomnaru city proper due to said organization wanting to move further out of the crown’s influence. You’d think that they’d rename themselves then. Huju’s other major attraction is the Hwangak College of Magic, and its storied halls have a tradition of churning out Daewanguk’s best court mages and supernatural advisors. [img]https://i.imgur.com/16evdqh.jpg[/img] Gomnaru is the capital city of Daewanguk, sitting on the peninsula’s central-eastern shores. Its urban planning is shaped like a drawn-back bow, with the “arrow” being a long road that runs from the ocean-side ports to the river-linked Inner Port. The city is huge, being separated into districts, and various functions of state are overseen by members of the Hwabaek Council. The seaside districts see the most travel from realms beyond Jeosung, most often coming as traders with unique goods. Such outsiders are forced to trade in a single well-guarded port area, not entirely trusted by the government, which has given rise to no small amount of hidden smugglers’ caches to get around such restrictions. Gomnaru is also home to a unique martial art known as Ssireum, a grappling and throw-focused fighting style that arose as one-on-one dueling between tribal leaders to avoid larger-scale bloody wars. Nowadays it is mostly done for entertainment, although its practitioners still take it seriously and pay homage to a primordial bear spirit to impart upon them strength and skill in matches. [img]https://i.imgur.com/7dE4wXf.png[/img] Other interesting places in Donggyeong include the Ruins of Palgeun Milae, a moss-ridden ruined military camp and temple to the old gods whose latest round of investigators and delvers have met various deaths; Dr. Lee Jaema’s Provincial Clinic, a former court physician who sought to dedicate his craft to treating more esoteric diseases; the Shrine of Infinite Emptiness, whose original purpose and faith is of unknown origin but agents of the Sect of Changjo seek to study it; the seven-story Dudanjeol Shrine which is home to the Sect of Yoggu Haneul, its trials of enlightenment ruses by its leader to enchant and blackmail Jeosung’s rich and powerful; the large and prestigious Haedong Yonggungsa Temple, which has been compromised to act as a propaganda distribution center for the king; and Pyeonghwa Peak, a mountain range dotted by many small and isolated shrines and whose entire region has a seemingly supernatural phenomena where travelers and inhabitants feel an aura of peace. This even affects unintelligent and supernaturally evil creatures, causing some to theorize that the mountains were home to the first communities of Heavenly Beings. There’s also the Shrine of Ondal, home to a magically-petrified soldier who is the center of a local legend. In life he was overlooked by female suitors who sought richer and more handsome husbands, but is now immortalized for saving his unit by taking the blow from an enemy commander’s petrifying sword by keeping the blade within his body as he turned to stone. The southern [b]Eondok Province[/b] is filled with beautiful forests and rolling hills, a land favored by artists and other pursuers of the creative spirit. Gaeul forest is magically stuck in a state of eternal autumn, and its origins are unknown yet still being studied. Jangseung* with dragonborn features can be found throughout, and the local dragonborn who live here are xenophobic and take pains to go unnoticed. The fertile farmlands of Ssalbada are the breadbasket, or rather rice basket, of Daewanguk. They were well-defended due to their vital necessity for the kingdom, although its soldier protectors of the Ssalbada Rice Farmer’s Guild are less concerned about the welfare of the farmers than the crops they grow. The town of Ilsijeok is the largest community in the area, a settlement seemingly made entirely out of bamboo scaffolding, staircases, and structures that somehow keep from falling. A fast-growing fishing village of Buldotäng seems all too strange, and its inhabitants are believed to either be ruled over by dokkaebis or are actually such monsters in disguise. In a more isolated region of the province is another village fallen on supernatural hard times: Hongju has been taken over by a traveling monk who brutally slain the local lord that graciously offered him hospitality, and a heavy fog and supernatural silence has hung over the community ever since. Another place stricken by evil magic are the Cursed Plains of Kyeoltuji, expanses of empty grassland whose trees grow no leaves and the bodies of fallen soldiers from a long-ago battle are preserved by supernatural means. *term for special totems erected at the edges of villages to ward off evil spirits. Wow, it seems like Eondok has been dealt a bad hand! But its last two locations are seeing brighter days. The Tree of Exaltation has a shrine built around it by Daewanguk’s only registered shamanic organization. Hundreds of smaller intertwining trees link up with the larger tree, bent into shapes resembling the bodies of dancing shamans. The community exists as a support group for shamans who are unable to find formal training and mentorship in their hometowns. The town of Saro is the southernmost community of Daewanguk, a sort of artist’s retreat where buildings are built to allow for the flow of comfortable breezes through them, and its urban planning is deliberately designed to encourage the proximity and interaction between social classes. A large park-like field is reserved for people to practice painting, music, reading, and other such pursuits, and is notable for being the only community where the Seongsucheong Agency operates an office openly. [img]https://i.imgur.com/4Iu9rUG.png[/img] The GM Tips section advises making use of the reputation system provided within this book. Even if the PCs are commoners, Daewanguk in general is much more regimented than the more freefaring realms of Mudangguk and Noonnara, and their actions can bar them from even meeting with and visiting certain NPCs and locations. This cuts both ways, as the competitive politicking often means that altruistic deeds for one group inevitably raise the ire of another. There are 10 sample Deed adventure hooks, and barring 2 exceptions they are all gated off based on Reputation for Heroes or Scoundrels only. The only ones open to both are working as security during a festival in Gomnaru due to reports of Eyes of Käl activity, and a Desperate Measure in saving the people of Hongju. The hero deeds are the standard variety for fantasy adventurers: escorting a scholar to Gomnaru, investigating the strange happenings at the Kusäng military base, investigating a malfunctioning Chilseong gate, defending a village from bandits, and locating a missing person and a traveling group of yangbans is suspected. The scoundrel deeds include an assassination attempt on a target who is only disclosed by a contact in person, infiltrating a military camp to learn of its weaknesses, and a third assassination attemp of a competing yangban. Some of the hero deeds feel like they don’t need sufficient morality to do, but having two-thirds of scoundrel deeds being assassination missions is rather unimaginative. But as for the NPCs, we got a lot of entries: 1 major and 34 minor! The major character is Naemul Minsu, the non-binary elven ruler of Saro teaching daily music lessons with an apprentice. The minor entries are numerous, covering a wide amount of who’s who in Daewanguk. They range from the head shaman of the Sect of Changjo who views herself as a chosen prophet but must be carried by a [url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Litter_(vehicle)]litter[/url] due to failing health, King Songdok whose increasing paranoia is sending him into a self-defeating spiral, and the Saju reader Doha who is well-known for the accuracy of her readings but is suspected of putting contracts on those who compete with or criticize her. Another notable thing about this entry is a large amount of non-binary NPCs. Although a CTRL F search reveals around 13 such characters, 9 of them are in Daewanguk (2 each in the previous realm entries). The book denotes their entries as “androgyn,” and makes use of Spivak pronouns for them (e/eir/em). [b]Thoughts So Far:[/b] In comparison to the previous realms Daewanguk doesn’t really jump out at me. I’ll admit that this is mostly due to being so used to feudal aristocracies in fantasy gaming that it feels like a return to form after the entries on Mudangguk and Noonnara. But such countries are more the exception than the norm, and I can understand having a more classically familiar society to contrast against the more novel entries. In spite of being the most “civilized” realm of Jeosung, there’s still an awful lot of wilderness dungeon-crawl areas to have adventures in, which is a plus in my book. While there’s plenty of greedy and oppressive nobles to oppose, there’s a relative lack of yangban family dynasties and relationship trees that I’d expect in such a realm. There are a lot of NPCs, but most of the conflict seems to stem more from pre-determined organizations such as the Sect of Changjo or more local troubles. Daewanguk is perfectly serviceable as a realm for wandering adventurers with a backdrop of scheming nobility rather than the scheming being a central plot. This isn’t objectively good or bad, but more a subjective taste that I still feel is worth pointing out to readers. I wished that we got more text on the “evil adventuring academy” in Hugak Swamp; sounds like a great excuse to pit rival adventuring parties against the PCs. [b]Join us next time as we visit the final realm of Jeosung, the authoritarian Hermit Kingdom of Haenamguk![/b] [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*Dungeons & Dragons
[Let's Read] The Koryo Hall of Adventures
Top