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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Libertad" data-source="post: 9885901" data-attributes="member: 6750502">Chapter 3: Meet the Resistance, Part 2<img src="https://cdn.imgchest.com/files/093910678dda.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " data-size="" style="width: 274px" /><a href="https://www.artstation.com/artwork/v1AJn3" target="_blank">The Shadowhand Thieves Guild By Dániel Kovács</a>The Duskmen: The Duskmen are an organized crime syndicate made up of worshipers of Hiddukel who profit off of the black market, political corruption, and other vices in the shadows of the Empire. They originated on the Goodlund Peninsula, but grew in influence with the spread of the Dragonarmies across the continent. The Dragon Empire's use of work camps and prisons for labor put many criminals into contact with non-criminals from different cultures, and the Duskmen drew their ranks from escaped prisoners as well. Ironically, the spread of the Dragonarmies' tyranny helped strengthen one of their more persistent foes.The Gods of Darkness made their way back to Ansalon much earlier than their more moral counterparts, although they were not well-established in comparison to Takhisis' faith before the Dark Queen's War. The exception was Hiddukel, who worked best in the shadows and was the least likely of the gods of Evil to follow her orders. The Goodlund peninsula proved fruitful ground for his faith: with the arrogant and authoritarian Silvanesti to the south and the shattered remnants of Istar in the Blood Sea to the north, the peninsula was home to an rambunctiously independent sort who eschewed traditional kingdom-building in favor of city-states and self-sufficient tribes. The Duskmen were so named for organizing at night, and in many realms of eastern Ansalon they were publicly viewed as a trade guild with their criminal status an open secret. Their ranks are based upon traditional feudal social classes: Laborers (non-criminals who pays protection fees), Artisans (specialists in specific types of crime), Merchants (accountants and fences), Gentry (heads of local organizations and usually divine spellcasters), Jesters (advisors to the Gentry), and Court Mages (arcane spellcasters).The Duskmen's skills and contacts ingratiated them with resistance movements across Ansalon, although such alliances come with gritted teeth. Their proximity to Silvanesti and the Blood Sea ensures a brisk trade in reclaiming magical items from said civilizations. While they style themselves as freedom fighters and protectors of the common folk, the Duskmen exploited and continue to exploit such folk for power and profit. While the Gentry often had incentives to keep their own streets and towns clean, the territories of rival guilds weren't so lucky. Such places were subject to banditry of farmsteads and piracy of port towns, and even their own territories would often see virtual serfdom and outright slavery of indebted and vulnerable people as well as the extortion of local businesses. In fact, the Dragonarmies gained a degree of initial goodwill in Port Balifor by forcefully expelling the syndicate, and their conquering armies were more warmly received by other Goodlundians due to this.VIPs: Aelanga Saron is the most influential of the Gentry, currently based in the city of Flotsam. Despite being run out of Port Balifor, she still has contacts there, but not to the same extent as pre-War days. Her disguised half-elven heritage engendered in her a soft spot for the Silvanesti diaspora, and her guild has been instrumental in working with the Elven Underground in rescuing captured elves. Diepold of Palanthas is a Gentry operating out of his namesake city, presenting himself to the public as an importer of spices from Nordmaar and the Blood Sea. He secretly dispenses magically-attuned coins in all of his business dealings, specifically designed to let him scry on people all over Ansalon.Major Bases: The Duskmen are organized into independent guilds operating out of major cities. Guilds are more or less autonomous and ally and war against each other based upon convenience. But the guilds of particularly prosperous and influential cities, such as Palanthas, spread their agents and holdings wide enough to give them a presence in outlying population centers. Duskmen traditionally hold meetings hiding in plain sight, usually communicating with each other in Thieves' Cant in storefronts and social clubs they own. But when discretion is utmost, they do have subterranean tunnel networks used as smuggling routes and safehouses.Haltigoth, the largest city in Estwilde, serves as an informal meeting point between Duskmen messengers and emissaries across the continent due to being a prominently-placed port town in the New Sea of central Ansalon and overall quite lawless. The various robber-barons, thieves' guilds, and Dragonarmy officers work at cross-purposes and focus on using public funds to line their own pockets. Its proximity to Taman Busuk allows the Duskmen to keep a closer eye on the dark dealings at the heart of the Dragon Empire as well.The tunnels beneath Port Balifor are said to be particularly ingenious, consisting of extradimensional pockets fashioned by Court Mages that hold countless riches. With the port under heavy guard by the Black Dragonarmy and the expulsion of the Duskmen from the city, it's the hope of many guild members to reclaim the city's literal underground and cement themselves as a veritable King/Queen of Thieves.Practical Goals: While some Duskmen might espouse loftier motivations, the vast majority of faction members are in it for the money. The ascendant Dragon Empire is at once good and bad for business. Even with Evil triumphant, dictatorships are fond of making ever more laws to ban things. This opened productive new trades in the sale of books speaking of the true gods besides Takhisis, weapons to non-military members in occupied provinces, and smuggling escaped prisoners and political dissidents to relative safety. No self-respecting Duskmen does their work for free, but many find weakening the Dragonarmies as a good payment all its own.Ideological Goals: The Duskmen view kings, gods, and all others in power as hypocrites and liars. "Hiddukel, at least, is honest about being a liar" is a favored saying among them. The Duskmen are quite materialistic and secular for a deity-founded order, where personal enrichment is celebrated over self-sacrifice and emphasis on otherworldly rewards. They can have friendships and do pro bono work, but such tasks are often weighed with favors and alliances made are out of convenience. Hiddukel is thus viewed as a god who worshipers work for, rewarding service with the granting of divine magic and supernatural insights.  Some Duskmen view Hiddukel as less of a god and more of a folkloric figure to emulate, where virtual godhood can be claimed by mortals if they achieve enough fame and power. By striving to be the best merchant, thief, or other materialistic occupation, a Duskman rewards themselves both in the mortal world and eventually in the world to come.<img src="https://cdn.imgchest.com/files/b401d97d62ab.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " data-size="" style="width: 307px" /><a href="https://www.artstation.com/artwork/yO2oR" target="_blank">Vernossiel of Scoia'tael by Draw Souls</a>The Elven Underground: The elven kingdoms of Ansalon fought valiantly against the Dragonarmies in a successive series of conflicts that saw their people pushed further westward. When Silvanesti fell, its people fled across southern Ansalon, and were soon joined by the Qualinesti when they too lost their lands. With most exiles settling in Southern Ergoth which was the homeland of the Kagonesti, the three major elven civilizations were living in close yet strained contact with each other. When Southern Ergoth fell, there was nowhere else for them to go. The Dragonarmies made that choice for them, as well as all others with any noticeable elvish heritage. They were forcibly transported to Silvanesti, where the chaotic dream magic unleashed by Lorac Caladon's use of the Dragon Orb saw the region renamed the Nightmare Lands.Ayleiah was a Silvanesti who knew all too well what fate awaited her and her brethren back there. She organized an escape with fellow prisoners being marched across the Plains of Dust. They lost some among their number, both in the fighting and to the environment, but the majority miraculously survived. Thus was the start of the Elven Underground, a mobile paramilitary movement active across southern Ansalon dedicated to rescuing elven prisoners from the Dragonarmies and the Nightmare Lands of Silvanesti.VIPs: Ayleiah remains the effective leader of the Elven Underground. While not someone who works "in the field," the human Weylight Malkren is a Dragonarmy officer and turncoat who fulfills the role of a functional bureaucrat rather than traditional warlord, and uses his position to modify messages and records to aid people resisting the Dragonarmies. With his father and brother dead and his sister MIA after the Battle of the High Clerist's Tower, Porthios Kanan is the most prominent noble among the Qualinesti elves, and his fighting force joined up with Ayleiah's once they established contact. He is currently looking into the journeys of his brother Gilthanas, believing that his time with the Companions led him to discover valuable information that could turn the tide against the Dragonarmies.Major Bases: With their traditional homelands scoured by the Dragonarmies and dream-spawned horrors, the Elven Underground is a wide network made up of individual cells. Their leaders are constantly on the move, using horses, griffons, and magic to traverse the Plains of Dust and intercept Dragonarmy patrols hauling elvish prisoners. The closest the Elven Underground has to a sedentary base is in Kharolis. This rural realm's proximity and alliances with Qualinesti and the Wizards of High Sorcery result in larger-than-normal portions of the population sympathetic to the plight of the elves. The high proportion of elvish heritage among the human population has been used by the Dragonarmies to come down hard on the native population, and there's no shortage of the blackmailed, the traitors, and the opportunists who will sell out their kin.Practical Goals: The Elven Underground seeks a safe haven for Ansalon's elvish populations. No kingdoms are willing to openly accept them due to fear of retaliation from the Dragon Empire or due to simple racism and apathy. Without the backing of non-elven governments, the group prioritizes disrupting Dragonarmy patrols and moving elves out of the Plains of Dust and dangerous areas of Lorac's Nightmare. Despite its danger, Alhana Starbreeze and the Sylvan Guard have partially reclaimed some territory in Silvanesti, although the Elven Underground feels that the renewal process is too long-term and that the elves should lay in wait elsewhere. The Elven Underground has resorted to selling cultural relics and magic items of their kingdoms in exchange for funding and safe passage. Ayleiah and many others regret resorting to this, but realize there won't be anything left of elvish culture if they don't make such compromises.Ideological Goals: The vast majority of the Elven Underground hopes to someday reclaim their ancestral lands and return to a life of relative normalcy. Due to their advanced lifespan many believe that this may come within their lifetimes, but others feel that things will never be the same and they must learn to live in a changed world. Their suffering wrought by the Dragon Empire's genocide created a variety of extreme perspectives: some elves feel that their xenophobic and isolationist ways made them ill-equipped to fend off the Dragonarmies, and in turning to dangerous magic like the Dragon Orbs their leaders had failed them. Such elves have taken a more empathetic and anti-authoritarian attitude as a result, coming to see their suffering reflected among the other subjugated peoples of Ansalon. Other elves merely intensified their xenophobic attitudes, some even losing faith in the goodness of others and seeking to make humans and other races viewed as allied with the Dragonarmies suffer like they have. There is a growing rift between the more traditionalist elves, who tend to worship the Gods of Light, and those who adopted the faith of Sargonnas, whose emphasis on vengeance and might makes right appeals to them.<img src="https://cdn.imgchest.com/files/db12b4d3d5f2.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " data-size="" style="width: 539px" /><a href="https://www.artstation.com/artwork/xYaDWO" target="_blank">Nights Watch by Pedro H. Cardoso</a>The Hidden Light: When the Gods delivered a fiery mountain upon Istar, the survivors of that culture were far enough away that they lived in or escaped to the higher mountains from the rising floodwaters. The Nerakans of central Ansalon speak a language bearing strong influence of the now-dead Istaran tongue, and although they do not worship Paladine and the Gods of Light, many remnants of that theocratic empire's culture live on among the Nerakans.Despite her role in the Cataclysm along with the rest of the gods, Takhisis eagerly seized upon Istaran customs and iconography to legitimize the Dragonarmies. She magically transported the sunken Temple of Istar to the city of Neraka, renaming it the Temple of Takhisis. Emperor Ariakas used the Miceram, the crown once worn by the Kingpriest, as evidence of his divine right to rule. After 300 years of suffering in a harsh land, many Nerakans were all too happy to flock to what they saw as a new golden age where they may be able to live like their ancestors. Such Nerakans are known as Loyalists, representing those who believe that their people were punished by the gods for Istar's sins, and that the gods will return once they are worthy. In their view, it is Takhisis who returned and found them worthy.But not all Nerakans were so eager to follow this new order. Just as many placed the blame on the gods for their suffering. Under the Kingpriest, the gods brought suffering, allowing a corrupt ruler to pervert holy teachings into worship of the self. With the Cataclysm, the gods brought even more suffering, even to those who were no allies of Istar. With the Dragonarmies, the gods are repeating the cycle. Such Nerakans are known as the Recusants, and an underground rebel group known as the Hidden Light operates out of the heart of the Dragon Empire.The Hidden Light derives their name from a tale about a fabled city beneath the Blood Sea that managed to shield itself from the Cataclysm. In reality, it was less a city and more a magically-warded building set up by secret members of the Wizards of High Sorcery to move their members out of Istar's capital during the Kingpriest's purges. It was repurposed by a hidden circle of wizards who foresaw the Cataclysm's destruction and filled the building with survivors. Trapped beneath the Blood Sea for years, they were eventually discovered by a group of aquatic elven explorers, who described the building as "a hidden light amid the red depths." Eventually the survivors were magically transported to the surface via wizards at Wayreth who established a working Teleportation Circle. While few in number, the tale of the Istaran survivors spread across Ansalon.The Dragonarmies killed most Recusants in battle, driving them to the more inhospitable reaches of central Ansalon which further diminished their number. The surviving Recusants learned to keep their teachings secret, passed on in close circles of family members and gradually spread to outside cultures in an attempt to warn others of the Dragonarmies. Many dismissed their tales of dragons and divine magic, but now many in the know came to realize their error and more than a few Recusants feel vindicated in their warnings.VIPs: The Hidden Light's leadership is primarily based in central Ansalon, right under the Dragon Empire's scaly nose in the city of Neraka. Their leader is Lute the Pawnbroker, whose store is a front for the organization and connects to the catacombs of the Undercity. His second in command is Talent Orren, owner of the Inn of the Broken Shield that serves as the major meeting area of the Hidden Light and has a sub-basement that can hold over a hundred people. Maelstrom is an accomplished warrior and contact who uses a network of informants in outlying territories to bring in outside help. The Revered Ancient One is the leader of a telepathic race known as the shadowpeople who live in the caverns beneath Sanction. The shadowpeople are allies of the Hidden Light and grant Recusants access to their subterranean caverns and tunnels.Major Bases: The Hidden Light primarily operates in the Taman Busuk region of central Ansalon, although they have individual members in neighboring territories such as Blödehelm, Estwilde, and Khur. The Inn of the Broken Shield is their major headquarters in Neraka, which connects to other areas and bases via an underground network. However, the caves and dungeons running beneath central Ansalon are vast to the point that only experienced guides who know where to look have a chance at finding the safehouses. Most shadowpeople live beneath the Temple of Huerzyd, an abandoned building dedicated to a false god in the Age of Despair and the true Gods of Light before the Cataclysm. The town of Jelek is home to sympathetic Recusants, although the small population makes it harder to blend in with the crowds and revolving door of visiting Dragonarmy dignitaries. This town's cells have yet to be activated for risky missions, so they mostly provide indirect aid.Practical Goals: The Hidden Light wishes to drive the Dragonarmies out of Neraka by killing off Emperor Ariakas and the more influential Dragon Highlords. They know that they lack the numbers and power to do this at the moment, so they're currently working on building their numbers via expanding their underground tunnel networks and making contact with other oppressed peoples of Ansalon. While they don't know its true significance, the Hidden Light knows that the Temple of Istar is centrally important to Takhisis, and reducing it to rubble is another goal of theirs.Ideological Goals: The Hidden Light are anti-theists. They believe in the existence of the gods, but don't view them as worthy of worship. While most are familiar with Takhisis, they know that the Cataclysm wasn't a solo project and believe that the other divinities aren't that much different from her. While they know that the Dragonarmies are dishonestly portraying history, most Hidden Light members see no reason to believe that the Kingpriest of Istar was opposed to Takhisis. The tales told of that man and his followers mirror much of what Emperor Ariakas is doing today. The Recusants would prefer people return to the ways before the Dragon Empire, of living independently from the gods.These beliefs make the Hidden Light very devoted to stamping out evil in their homeland, but very difficult for them to work with religiously-inclined rebel groups and individuals. Some Recusants might swallow their pride and accept aid, but they will steadfastly refuse conversion attempts and even act against spreading faiths in the Taman Busuk.<img src="https://cdn.imgchest.com/files/a0e593a24cee.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " data-size="" style="width: 615px" /><a href="https://www.artstation.com/artwork/el8nNb" target="_blank">T20 Party RPG - Tavern by Pedro Wallace</a>The Innfellows: It was said that a band of heroes known as the Companions gathered at the Inn of the Last Home in the Abanasinian town of Solace. Gradually growing in number, they opposed the Dragonarmies and undertook many quests across Ansalon. Tales of their deeds have morphed into folklore, where even several of the facts seem too fanciful to believe. The Companions have been credited with everything from the return of the true gods, killing multiple former Dragon Highlords, the slave rebellion at Pax Tharkas, reunification of the dwarven clans of Thorbardin, and various small acts of sabotage and malicious compliance that interfere with day-to-day operations of the Dragonarmies.While the Companions are the most famous example, the concept of the traveling adventurer-for-hire was a rare occupation that lacked the backing of formal establishments. Some adventurer's guilds were established during the Age of Despair, but suffered from a high turnover rate and most of their members became formal soldiers during the Dark Queen's War. With the Dragonarmies triumphant, the adventurer has become a romanticized occupation, with many subjugated people fantasizing about wandering groups of do-gooders coming into town and driving off their oppressors. The Innfellows as they stand today come from both the surviving veterans of the War and young idealists following the example of the Companions.VIPs: A trio of former adventurers are the tactical planners of the Innfellows, who were all once hired by the Companions to explore the ruins of Xak Tsaroth twelve years ago. They are the Abanasinian ranger Jaymes Green, a Kharolian prospector who simply goes by Bear, and Fiona Wainwright, a former bodyguard of the senior leadership of a now-vanished religious movement known as the Seekers. They bore witness to Goldmoon's sermons, seeing her call down miracles unseen since the Cataclysm. The three used to fight together during the Dark Queen's War, but now work relatively independently as commanders of various cells in southwestern Ansalon. Other prominent Innfellow members include the half-ogre battlemage and White Robe wizard Arkhelm Windscythe, who fights alongside summoned elementals against Dragonarmy patrols in the Plains of Dust; and Liara Starsong, a kender cleric of Branchala who runs a secret clinic in an unassuming village on the New Coast peninsula.Major Bases: The Innfellows' primary headquarters is simply known as Sanctuary, an ancient temple in the northern Kharolis Mountains rediscovered by Bear. The temple bears echoes of a forgotten age, from sculptures and artwork of the Gods of Light to an underground Chamber of the Dragon that holds the skeleton of a gold dragon. The Innfellows recall tales of noble-minded dragons metallic in coloration, and the skeleton still bears gold-hued scales.While not explicitly aligned with the Innfellows, a significant number of wizards are sympathetic to their cause if not outright joining them, so the Tower of High Sorcery at Wayreth is used by arcane rebels as a place of refuge and cooperation.Practical Goals: The Innfellows seek to network likeminded adventurers interested in protecting the common folk from the Dragonarmies and other threats. They also help teach people skills which are the bread and butter of adventurers: skill in arms and magic, outdoorsmanship, and safe exploration of hazard-filled dungeons. Other goals of high priority include locating and contacting the metallic dragons in order to find out why they refuse to fight the Dragon Empire, and a growing number of divine spellcasters among their ranks advocate for the return of the true gods and re-establishment of their religious orders. Such faiths spread their teachings covertly, but giving more people the gift of divine magic without reliance upon magic items fashioned by evil clerics is a valued asset.Ideological Goals: The Innfellows desire the overthrow of the Dragonarmies, but beyond that they don't have much in the way of specific post-war goals. The membership's heavy makeup of Abanasinians and Kharolians, plus the general self-reliant lifestyles of adventurers, means that many are skeptical of expansive governments and heavy-handed authority. Many Innfellows believe that letting people govern themselves is better than empire-building and unification of disparate lands. Additionally, the group's higher than normal concentration of spellcasters both arcane and divine, plus several of their leaders' presence at Goldmoon's sermons, means that many are sympathetic to the true gods and their various agendas. Most Innfellows hew in favor of the Gods of Light, but even among those deities there are differing standards of ideal behavior and codes of conduct.</blockquote>

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