Emperor Valerian
First Post
Hello everyone.
This fall I started campaigning with a mostly new set of people at my graduate school. Some of you might have read the previous story hours of mine... Into the Icy Darkness. Only one of those players (Siabrey's player) has returned.
This is a new campaign, based in a different part of my homebrew world than Into the Icy Darkness. This campaign takes place in the realm of Ak Konylu, based upon China during the era of ‘Romance of the Three Kingdoms.’ Both the players are keen into ‘Dynasty Warriors’ and other games of the ilk, so I’ve tried to include some of that in this campaign as well. Material for this comes from both the Oriental Adventures book, standard core, and some brainstorming threads in the RPG forum here.
Currently a number of crises face the Empire. Most notably, the strife between the old followers of Master Kong-shi, devoted scholars dedicated to searching for and embodying the ancient teacher’s idea of ‘virtue,’ and the followers of the teachings of Asoka Shenyang, an obscure monk from the south who preached on can only seek true peace and fufillment by looking into oneself. (Yes, a rip-off of the Daoists versus the Buddhists ) Additionally, many of the local Imperial prefects are not respected by their subjects, and laws are strict beyond the comprehension of many (ancient Qin, for anyone with knowledge of Chinese history).
The players are starting the small village of Red Lotus, to the far north of the Celestial Empire of Ak Konylu. The region marks the border between the civilized lands of Ak Konylu to the south, and the Great Shu Desert and the Slave Coasts to the north. This region, The Western Marches, is not even a proper province... it is instead of military district, under the strict and iron control of General Li Zicheng, in the name of his most Divine Majesty Emperor Yuandi.
As for the players (and the main NPC):
Felonca – hengeyokai (panther) Rog2 aged 35 CG (player)
Felonca is the scion of a minor professional military family. Originally, she herself was to be trained in the ways of war, and she took up use of the warfan to deadly effect. However, the life of a low ranking officer had little appeal to her, and recently she has escaped from training to find her own way in the world. Quick and skilled in the art of distraction, she has found temporary employ as a thief, making her way from village to village.
In human form, Felonca is 5’5”, rather dark complexion. Her hair is jet black, but unusually, her eyes are not only blue, but vertically slitted, a nod to her cat-like ancestry. She normally is clad in long, dark robes that disguise her warfans, black in color with silver cats etched upon them.
*DM’s Note: I know that technically hengeyokai can be only smaller animals than a panther, but the player really wanted to be a panther, and also the party is going to be small, so some... excessiveness is appropriate to keep things a little closer to normal.
Nayu – human Sorc3 aged 17 CG (player)
Nayu is the scion of a minor trading family from the village of Red Lotus, situated on one of the major north-south trading routes through the Western Marches of the Celestial Empire, just south of the great Shu Desert.
Nayu stands about 5’10” tall, slightly tanned, and usually is clad in simple, clean clothing. He has a small walking stick, and has just started growing longer facial hair to look more distinguished. One of his prized possessions is a bag that seems it can hold far more than possible (Bag of Holding)
Nayu is skilled in the art of glib, as one would expect of a young merchant. However, Nayu also has skills in a realm almost completely dominated by followers and teachers of Master Kong-shi... the arts of arcane magic. He has taken an interest in collecting minor magic items, and makes a daily pilgrimage to examine the markets of his town each morning for minor items of interest.
Liu Ganxi – human Clr2/Mnk1 aged 26 LG (NPC)
Liu Ganxi is a monk at one of the Shao monasteries dedicated to the spread of the word of Asoka Shenyang. Norminally dedicated to the ways of peace, the followers of Shenyang have also recognized that sometimes one must defend oneself from those of lesser thought. Liu is one of the practicioners of said arts of defense.
Liu is usually bare from the waist up, and fights unarmed. His head is bald, save for a single long queue, braided neatly to hang down the left side. His hair is black and his eyes an intense brown.
I cannot promise how timely updates will be, though I will try to keep things updated frequently. Perhaps by tomorrow, Monday, or Tuesday I can have the first proper story post up under this.
Read, and I hope you enjoy!
Oh, and here are two relevant maps:
Map of the Celestial Empire of Ak Konylu
Map of the Party's Exploits (Contains Spoilers, Session Order is: 1)Orange, 2)Light Blue, 3)Pink, 4)Dark Blue, 5)Dark Green, 6)Yellow, and 7)Red/Brown
This fall I started campaigning with a mostly new set of people at my graduate school. Some of you might have read the previous story hours of mine... Into the Icy Darkness. Only one of those players (Siabrey's player) has returned.
This is a new campaign, based in a different part of my homebrew world than Into the Icy Darkness. This campaign takes place in the realm of Ak Konylu, based upon China during the era of ‘Romance of the Three Kingdoms.’ Both the players are keen into ‘Dynasty Warriors’ and other games of the ilk, so I’ve tried to include some of that in this campaign as well. Material for this comes from both the Oriental Adventures book, standard core, and some brainstorming threads in the RPG forum here.
Currently a number of crises face the Empire. Most notably, the strife between the old followers of Master Kong-shi, devoted scholars dedicated to searching for and embodying the ancient teacher’s idea of ‘virtue,’ and the followers of the teachings of Asoka Shenyang, an obscure monk from the south who preached on can only seek true peace and fufillment by looking into oneself. (Yes, a rip-off of the Daoists versus the Buddhists ) Additionally, many of the local Imperial prefects are not respected by their subjects, and laws are strict beyond the comprehension of many (ancient Qin, for anyone with knowledge of Chinese history).
The players are starting the small village of Red Lotus, to the far north of the Celestial Empire of Ak Konylu. The region marks the border between the civilized lands of Ak Konylu to the south, and the Great Shu Desert and the Slave Coasts to the north. This region, The Western Marches, is not even a proper province... it is instead of military district, under the strict and iron control of General Li Zicheng, in the name of his most Divine Majesty Emperor Yuandi.
As for the players (and the main NPC):
Felonca – hengeyokai (panther) Rog2 aged 35 CG (player)
Felonca is the scion of a minor professional military family. Originally, she herself was to be trained in the ways of war, and she took up use of the warfan to deadly effect. However, the life of a low ranking officer had little appeal to her, and recently she has escaped from training to find her own way in the world. Quick and skilled in the art of distraction, she has found temporary employ as a thief, making her way from village to village.
In human form, Felonca is 5’5”, rather dark complexion. Her hair is jet black, but unusually, her eyes are not only blue, but vertically slitted, a nod to her cat-like ancestry. She normally is clad in long, dark robes that disguise her warfans, black in color with silver cats etched upon them.
*DM’s Note: I know that technically hengeyokai can be only smaller animals than a panther, but the player really wanted to be a panther, and also the party is going to be small, so some... excessiveness is appropriate to keep things a little closer to normal.
Nayu – human Sorc3 aged 17 CG (player)
Nayu is the scion of a minor trading family from the village of Red Lotus, situated on one of the major north-south trading routes through the Western Marches of the Celestial Empire, just south of the great Shu Desert.
Nayu stands about 5’10” tall, slightly tanned, and usually is clad in simple, clean clothing. He has a small walking stick, and has just started growing longer facial hair to look more distinguished. One of his prized possessions is a bag that seems it can hold far more than possible (Bag of Holding)
Nayu is skilled in the art of glib, as one would expect of a young merchant. However, Nayu also has skills in a realm almost completely dominated by followers and teachers of Master Kong-shi... the arts of arcane magic. He has taken an interest in collecting minor magic items, and makes a daily pilgrimage to examine the markets of his town each morning for minor items of interest.
Liu Ganxi – human Clr2/Mnk1 aged 26 LG (NPC)
Liu Ganxi is a monk at one of the Shao monasteries dedicated to the spread of the word of Asoka Shenyang. Norminally dedicated to the ways of peace, the followers of Shenyang have also recognized that sometimes one must defend oneself from those of lesser thought. Liu is one of the practicioners of said arts of defense.
Liu is usually bare from the waist up, and fights unarmed. His head is bald, save for a single long queue, braided neatly to hang down the left side. His hair is black and his eyes an intense brown.
I cannot promise how timely updates will be, though I will try to keep things updated frequently. Perhaps by tomorrow, Monday, or Tuesday I can have the first proper story post up under this.
Read, and I hope you enjoy!
Oh, and here are two relevant maps:
Map of the Celestial Empire of Ak Konylu
Map of the Party's Exploits (Contains Spoilers, Session Order is: 1)Orange, 2)Light Blue, 3)Pink, 4)Dark Blue, 5)Dark Green, 6)Yellow, and 7)Red/Brown
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