Upgrade your account to a Community Supporter account and remove most of the site ads.

Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="Nebuchadnezzar" data-source="post: 94072" data-attributes="member: 1938">Glad you liked it, Warchild. Here is some more information on the Darkening Campaign-Setting:The Darkening was a cataclysmic event after which the prayers of mortals went unanswered. The gods have grown silent, for reasons unknown. Theocratic kingdoms and empires crumbled as  priest-kings lost their ability to cast spells, and thus the sign that they were the favored of the gods. Many lands were plunged into chaos (now known as the Broken Lands). Another effect of theDarkening was the Imprisonment of Khanesh. It is simply impossible to journey to other planes, and Khanesh itself is closed to the planes. This also made it impossible for souls to complete their journey to the afterlife. They are doomed to roamKhanesh. A few souls also return to their corpses, and undead of all shapes innhabit Khanesh (every undead is a template, as skeletal rabbits and zombie magpies can be found in the world). Imprisoned outsiders on Khanesh cause havoc as they desperately try to found some way to flee the forsaken world. The Darkening also left former holy cities and lands cursed with profane energies. Bel-Marduk (simply compared to the Vatican City) is now completely abandoned, save for the undying form of priest-king Szulg IX who spends his days whispering prayers which pass unheard. Here is a piece of Khanesh's history (B.D. means before Darkening, the campaign is set 60 years after the Darkening):THE DEMON WARS  256 B.D. - 253 B.D.    Ecliptea had seen prosperous times since Devhorian ascended to the title of Lord Protector in 261 B.D. This zealous priest of Corsentius cleansed the surrounding countryside of monsters and brigands, restoring law and order to the region. The firstgreat victory came in an attack on the warlord Raus led by Devhorian himself. Raus was slain and his land annexed by Ecliptea. Seven days of festivities and rejoycing followed as Devhorian's popularity grew to unseen heights. Even his commanders, paladins of Corsentius, were blinded by his seeming glory. Devhorian now had full control of both the populace and the military, as long as the steady stream of victories continued.     And it did. In 258 B.D. the armies of Ecliptea marched on Rylverian nomads with news that the barbarians there were amassing an army. Thousands of Rylverian nomads were slaughtered, though no army was discovered. Victory was still claimed, and a cowed populace cheered for Devhorian and his strange mystic. There were evil omens however, as some paladins who fought against the Rylverian nomads fell from grace and lost their paladinhoods. The Lord Protector had these "traitors", lest they spread dissension and strife in the army. By now Devhorian had grown so vain and mad with power that he envisioned a last, great crusade against the forces of evil. He summoned all the high priests of Corsentius at his command and bid them construct a great portal to the Abyss. It would function so that only a chosen group of people could move in and out of the portal. This to make sure the demons of the Abyss not attack Khanesh itself. The work on the portal would last two years and was lead by the enigmatic mystic.    The portal stood ready in 256 B.D., and Devhorian announced his intent to the people of Ecliptea. The crowds cheered the Lord Protector as he proclamed his intent to personally lead thousands of Ecliptean soldiers into the Abyss and strike a great blow against the forces of evil. Madness seemed to be a contagious state of mind as even the paladin commanders looked forward to the crusade. A week of celebration with games and tournaments preceeded the crusade in which the troops were whiped into a frenzy of bloodlust and zealousness. When the time finally came to march into the Abyss, the road leading to the portal was lined with blooming flowers and smiling maidens. The army, led by Devhorian, marched into the Abyss. The army was to return after twenty four hours.    Days came and went, and yet the army did not return. Divination spells revealed nothing, and soon all the priests of Corsentius in Ecliptea simply lost their ability to grant spells (this incident is viewed by many as a warning to the Darkening). The news spread, and soon the populace became afraid and there was even talk of revolting. All the people of Ecliptea grew silent however, as the Devhorian's army returned from the Abyss. The stench of corpses and the buzzing of flies warned of the army's return. But nothing could have prepared the people of Ecliptea, and indeed the people of Khanesh, as to the nature of the return. Devhorian had become a gaunt, skeletal figure. His eyesburned with hellfire, and the steed he rode upon was equally skeletal and horrible. Behind Devhorian rode his ten commanders, once zealous and righteous paladins, but now clearly fiendish, undying creatures. The entire army soon marched in, and the moaning of a thousand walking dead echoed across Ecliptea. Devhorian marched into the city square, the populace paralyzed with fear. He stopped, as did the army, and he said with a hollow, cruel voice: "Behold, people of Ecliptea, we bring you eternal life". With these words, all the undying creatures simultaneously began striking at the city's innhabitants. The screams of dying men and the moans of dead men was a horribleunholy symphony, and those who did not die became ravenous lunatics.</blockquote>

Verification