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Message: <blockquote data-quote="theburningman" data-source="post: 341016" data-attributes="member: 1006">The Lands of the Black OathCore Ethos StatementThe Lands of the Black Oath are a world that has been torn apart by a tragic war that should never have been, a war spawned by the vengeance of a heartbroken wizard, a war fueled by the greed of humans and the pride of elves.Who are the heroes?The heroes are peasants and nobles who have fled across the sea to escape cataclysm and settle in a magical new land.  They are barbarians coping with the influx of millions of unforeseen refugees.  They are dwarves, halflings, and gnomes, wanting nothing more than to shake free from the yoke of their elven creators and masters.  They are even, perhaps, elven warriors and scholars who fear the darkness that threatens their way of life, both from outside and from within.What do they do?Many cast their lots on one side of the war or the other, whether with the legions of the Empire of Bronze and the Third Faith, or with the elven crusaders of the Greenlords and their orc and ogre thralls.  Perhaps the bravest remain unaffiliated adventurers and mercenaries, struggling to make their way in a conflict not of their choosing.  Some few will even learn the lamentable truth about the war and be recruited by the monks and psions of the Veiled Eye to hunt down and destroy the wizards of the Black Oath.Threats, Conflicts, VillainsThe greatest threat to the peace of Perros is the machinations of the undying wizard Alzseor.  Alzseor was the first human to visit the shores of Perros and dwell among the elves.  He was consumed by passion for an elf-maiden and for the natural sorcery of the elves.  The Greenlords denied him both.  Alzseor cursed them for their pride and swore his Black Oath: he would discover the secrets of arcane magic, and he would use them to destroy that which he could not possess.  The cataclysm, the war, and the demonic darkness that corrupts the elves are the result of centuries of obsession and manipulation.Nature of magicIn the Lands of the Black Oath, magic is life and life is magic.  In creatures that have the closest physical ties to the essence of magic, such as elves and dragons, life is prolonged and casting a spell is as natural as running or speaking.  Other creatures, including humans, have only the most tenuous connection to this essence, but it may be made stronger through the study and contemplation of wizardry.  Unfortunately, the wizard’s path is tainted by the same demonic corruption that insinuates itself into the elven lands.What’s new?  What’s different?The war touches every aspect of life on Perros; no adventurer (or adventure) can escape its influence.  Even neutral cultures like the lycanthrope nomads of the Quuarth and the winged spearmen of the Dragonfly Throne will eventually have to choose sides.  The war is affecting the magical essence of the land as well; as the conflict rages, the destruction caused by misused magic creates more horrible abominations and even gates to the lower planes.  The gods have not manifested themselves for eons, but celestial allies may be needed as the bloodshed escalates.*********************Ah, well. *snuffle,sniff*<img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f641.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":(" title="Frown    :("  data-smilie="3"data-shortname=":(" /> *********************Congratulations to the final 11!<img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f600.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":D" title="Big grin    :D"  data-smilie="8"data-shortname=":D" /></blockquote>

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