Forged Fury
First Post
8 Marpenoth, 1378 DR, Tethyr
Strife whispered through the air of Tethyr. Not quite ten years had passed since the Reclamation Wars ended and Zaranda Star was crowned queen of the land. A fair and just ruler, the Queen-Monarch devoted her efforts to rebuilding the land that had been subjected to nearly forty years of war and corrupt governance. But even with the people of the land supporting her, there were those who found her rule inconvenient.
A former mercenary, the Queen-Monarch also possessed a type of shrewdness uncommon for the nobility. As such, she established a loosely connected cohort of adventurers early in her rule: The Shadow Stars of Tethyr. Distinct from the Warriors of the Star, who were dedicated to protecting the Queen and her family, the Shadow Stars were a semi-official organization tasked with a variety of duties within Tethyr including diplomacy, espionage, slaying monsters, and combatting lawlessness.
With evidence that unknown forces were organizing to contest her rule, the Queen-Monarch sought potential allies within the kingdom of Tethyr. Two such potential allies were the Suldusk and Elmanesse elf tribes of the Wealdath, the great forest covering much of Tethyr. The Queen-Monarch dispatched one of the Shadow Stars, an earth genasi named Brunhilde “Brue” Stonedottir, to negotiate with the elves. Successful, Brue was tasked by the elves with delivering two items to the Queen-Monarch in the Tethyrian capital of Darromar: a signed copy of the treaty as well as a ceremonial staff known as the Heartwood of the Wealdath. The elven leaders planned to travel to Darromar at the conclusion of the month of Uktar and would partially weigh the alliance based on the degree of respect accorded the Heartwood of the Wealdath.
On Brue’s return trip, she was set upon by unknown assailants south of Mosstone, robbed, and left for dead. She was discovered by Randal Greycastle, a paladin living in Mosstone, who brought her to the town to recover. Unknown to both of them, the town was quarantined soon after their return due to an outbreak of plague. Brue awoke with amnesia and, with little else to do, aided Greycastle in both keeping the peace in Mosstone and investigating the cause of the plague. Slowly recovering her memories, the genasi discovered that the town apothecary, a gnome named Philbert “Vials” Boddynock, was the mastermind behind the plague. Defeating the apothecary and the death dog he was harvesting to develop the plague, Brue saved the people of Mosstone. In the process she discovered that Vials was part of a larger conspiracy that apparently had something to do with the attack on her. Ultimately discovered by one of the Queen-Monarch’s emissaries, Lady Rowena Tosscobble, Brue was sent south to Kirgard to meet with a small group of her fellow Shadow Stars in order to undertake an effort to recover the treaty and the Heartwood of the Wealdath.
Hello everyone! After running @CanadienneBacon through a relatively short short adventure, I’ve decided to expand the game to include a group. If you are interested, the full thread for the previous adventure can be found here - Tattered Memories: An Adventure in Tethyr
Recruitment
3-4 Player Characters to join CanadienneBacon’s PC
Players may submit a character in this recruitment thread through the 27th of September. I will only be accepting one submission from each player. This will not be first-come/first-served. I will be selecting PCs based on a variety of considerations including party fit and characterization.
My expectation for posting is at least once a day, with the exception of weekends and holidays. Obviously, real life is far more important than our game, so I can work around absences. I do ask that I be made aware in advance. If you do not think you’ll be able to post according to these guidelines, please do not submit a character.
Character Creation
Abilities: Standard 27 Point Buy
Level: 4th Level Characters (Fixed HP past 1st level, Multiclassing and Feats in play)
Race: PHB & EE Forgotten Realms races. Note that the timeline for this adventure is pre-Spellplague, so Tieflings are relatively uncommon and Dragonborn are unknown. Variant Human is allowed.
Alignment: Good or Neutral alignments please, see Backgrounds for more information
Equipment: Standard starting equipment based on class and background. If you’re picked, we’ll discuss additional and/or substituting equipment.
Additional Materials: UA material may be accepted on a case by case basis, just ask. I won’t be entertaining homebrew.
Backgrounds
Feel free to develop your character’s background however you would like. You will all be relatively recent members of the Shadow Stars of Tethyr. You have all either worked together or know each other through reputation. Please note that your PC is heroic; otherwise they would not have been selected for membership in the Shadow Stars by the Queen-Monarch. With that said, Zaranda Star was a mercenary for a large stretch of her life, so you could still be heroic with a healthy side of less admirable traits.
My Playstyle
I think it’s important for any player to have an idea about the DM’s approach to the game. I am a big fan of the rules and try to avoid house ruling as much as possible, I feel it adds stability to the player experience. When rulings are necessary, I tend toward recognizing and respecting balance. As far as player creativity and resource usage, I’m much more likely to favor players exploiting in-game factors than I am players exploiting text in the Player’s Handbook. At the end of the day, we’re all here to have fun and enjoy ourselves, so I will do my best to meet that expectation.
Accepted Player Characters
1. @CanadienneBacon as Brue (Earth Genasi, Fighter 3/Cleric 1)
2. @hafrogman as Lorenzo (Human, Cleric 4)
3. @Olrox17 as Corilo (Human Fighter 4)
4. @Marcelus14 as Gnorth (Half-Orc Bard 4)
5. @Egon as Boddynock Scheppen (Gnome Sorcerer 4)
Submitted Player Characters ( √ indicates DM-Reviewed)
1. @hafrogman as Lorenzo (Human, Cleric 4) (√)
2. @Shayuri as Inamar (Human Warlock 4) (√)
3. @Leif as Krexagh Bottomald (Dwarf Fighter 1/Rogue 3) (√)
4. @Zansy as Annan (Elf Rogue 4) {Background Pending} (√)
5. @perrinmiller as Alicia Tien (Human Ranger 4) (√)
6. @Steve Gorak as Dorn Greycape (Human Fighter 1/Rogue 1/Warlock 2) (√)
7. @Kobold Stew as Meadowlark (Human Paladin 4) (√)
8. @Olrox17 as Corilo (Human Fighter 4) (√)
9. @pathfinderq1 as Singing Leaf (Half Elf Druid 1/Bard 3) ()
10. @Marcelus14 as Gnorth (Half-Orc Bard 4) (√)
11. @Egon as Boddynock Scheppen (Gnome Sorcerer 4) (√)
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