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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Kafkonia" data-source="post: 3450556" data-attributes="member: 40261">The air is buzzing in the market of Khedris – the great market that stretches from the fishmongers on the shore to Caravan Square. Halmaro the Red – master of the powerful Merchants’ Guild, second in power in Khedris only to the emperor of Lantara himself – is organizing a caravan! And this is no ordinary caravan; it will carry goods and gifts for the wedding of Halmaro’s daughter Kira to Prince Eiru of Mashanda.The caravan will be huge, even by Khedran standards. It includes 220 camels, 50 horses, 40 head of fattened cattle, and 50 oxen pulling five wagons. The wagons are quite a rarity in a caravan; some of the wedding gifts must be huge!The word is out that Halmaro is looking for herdsmen, scribes, translators, cooks, guides, physicians, laborers, and other hirelings for the caravan. Many of these will come from the various guilds, but there will be plenty of room for freelancers. Of course, guards will be needed too. Caravanning is not without its risks; bandits, highwaymen, and thieves take their toll on the caravans, as do sandstorms, heat, and floods.Halmaro will pay 200 to 600 GP per person for about 6-8 weeks’ work – one quarter when the caravan sets out, another quarter when the caravan reaches Ayun on the Mashandi border, and the rest when the caravan gets to Ein Arris, the capital of Mashanda. (How much each employee is paid depends on the job and how well they impress their foremen; there is a possibility of a bonus for exceptional work when the caravan reaches Ein Arris.) Halmaro treats his employees fairly, and even encourages his hirelings to trade on their own (he’s always looking for people who might be merchant material.)Not everyone who applies will be hired, of course, but nothing ventured, nothing gained. And you’ve worked for the Merchants’ Guild in the past when you needed a stretch of steady pay. Right now you are looking for a chance to travel and do something a little out of the ordinary. This might be that chance.Level: 2nd levelPoint Buy: 28 pointsHit Points: full at 1st, half (round up) at second; TBD at later levelsStarting Wealth: 900 GPSetting: Homebrew mixed with Lantara; details belowXP Allotment: I prefer to allot XP by Encounter Level rather than by CR, as it tends to keep advancement at a slower pace and is more adaptable. I will keep track of the XP, but if it ever becomes an issue (such as for item creation) I will be happy to provide a current value to the player. The characters will start having just crossed the cusp of 2nd level.Alignment: Any lawful or non-evil.[SBLOCK=Classes, Feats, Races, Spells, etc.]Classes AllowedAll PHB classes & DMG's Witch class; I will also entertain psionics from the SRD, but bear in mind that I don't own the XPH at present.from Unearthed Arcana -- variant core, racial paragon classesfrom Complete Arcane -- War Mage, Wu Jenfrom Complete Divine -- Spirit Shaman, Favoured Soulfrom Complete Warrior -- Hexblade, Samurai, Swashbuckler, alternate Ranger & Paladinfrom Complete Adventurer -- Spellthief, Scoutfrom Tome of Magic -- Binder, Truenamerfrom Magic of Incarnum -- Incarnate, Soulborn, Totemistfrom Miniatures Handbook -- Marshal, Healerfrom Player's Handbook II -- Beguiler, Dragon Shaman, Duskbladefrom Eberron Campaign Setting -- Artificersubstitution levels and/or alternate class abilities from all above-listed books, as well as Sandstorm, Frostburn, Dungeonscape, Planar Handbook, Complete Mage, and Complete Scoundrel, Races of the Dragon and Races of Destiny.Spells, Feats, and Itemsfrom all of the above-listed books, as well as Book of Exalted Deeds, Spell Compendium, and Magic Item Compendium.Races AllowedHuman, Kalashtar (ECS), Neanderthal (Frostburn), Azurin (Magic of Incarnum), Elf (Grey and Standard), Half-Elf, Half-Human, Goblin*, Hobgoblin*, Kobold*, Planetouched (including MM, MM2, and FF.) Racial variants from Sandstorm and Frostburn are also allowed for the above races; those from UA are not.*Goblinoid and Kobold societies are different from those described in the MM, and they are not automatically predisposed to evil. Additionally, they are not afflicted with light-sensitivity.[/SBLOCK]Please note that this game will be weighted more toward NPC interaction and non-combat encounters than toward combat encounters. Craft, Profession, and Perform skills will all come into play.Some things that are not allowed to PCs (classes, sources for feats, etc) may be allowed to NPCs, as flavour requires.[SBLOCK=About the World]Lying in the south, Lantara is the dominant human nation on the continent, and Khedris -- its capital, and where we start our journey -- is a metropolis, the largest city in the known world. It is named after Khedren, a wise emperor who abolished slavery, lowered taxes, and raised the general standard of living. Lantara is still ruled by an emperor today, but many people say that the Merchant's Guild is as powerful as the Royal Family. To the east, west, and north are mountain ranges, with passes of varying navigability.Controlling most of the Northern coastline, the Kingdom of Mashanda may be the second most powerful nation on the continent. Few people aside from merchants travel from Mashanda to Lantara, as the interior of the continent is a desert, home to nomadic tribes of Painted Elves, primitive neanderthals, and of course the goblinoid traders who ply the routes between both the larger cities of the continent and the smaller towns less likely to be serviced by Lantaran merchant caravans. What news reaches Khedris indicates that Mashanda is, like Lantara, human-dominated.Kalashtar, Azurin, and Planetouched are seen only rarely -- exceptional children born without precedent to human parents. They do no breed true, and scholars have not yet found any way of predicting their appearance. The only thing that seems constant is that they are always born to two human parents.In the mountains, kobold clans mine and trade with the goblinoids, while Snow Elves and neanderthals inhabit the higher altitudes.Across the mountains to the west lies the Elven Commonwealth of Olenar-Ajir, claimed by its citizens to have once been a continent-spanning civilization long before humans rose to prominence. The majority of the populace consists of standard elves, but some of the exceptionally long-lived grey elves remain, svelte and aloof even from their comrades. Painted and Snow elves are uncommon, as they generally feel unwelcome, and even though few half-elves are found in human lands, the number of half-humans (half-elves raised by elven rather than human society) to be found is smaller still.To the east of Lantara lies an almost-impassable mountain range, and details of what can be found on the other side are sketchy at best; those few who make the trip can rarely manage to return. It is said that there are ruins there, ancient ruins that suggest the Olenar-Ajirian claims may be true -- but some who tell the tale claim that the ruins are altogether too large to have ever belonged to elves, and that descendants of the true builders still travel amongst the cyclopean architecture, their shapes unlike anything found elsewhere.[/SBLOCK]</blockquote>

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