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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Jodo Kast" data-source="post: 341078" data-attributes="member: 4810">EMPIRE ASCENDANTEmpire Ascendant1.  Core Ethos Sentence.  Empire Ascendant is a high fantasy campaign set against the backdrop of an expanding elven empire faced with resistance from without, dissension from within and ominous signs that a long-vanquished evil is rising from the darkness whence it was cast.2.  Who Are The Heroes?  From the contemplative monks and powerful psions of the jungles of Kankora to the stoic dwarven soldiers of Val-Gandir, players choose from a wide variety of heroic roles.  Players are not limited to human rogues or elven wizards.  In Empire Ascendant, players can take on the role of a hobgoblin warrior, lizardfolk druid, gnoll barbarian or even a wemic ranger.           3.  What Do They Do?  The elven wizards of the Empire Ascendant strive to bring peace and enlightenment to the lesser races.  Rangers patrol fallen drow cities, confining long forgotten dangers.  Dwarves, warded from magic by runic armor, pit steel and courage against monsters driven from the light by the ever-expanding Empire.  People of the walled city-states of the Wilding Coast remain vigilant against evil creatures that threaten to destroy their isolated strongholds.  Kankorran monks hone their martial skills against the exotic creatures that haunt their jungle home, while barbarian tribes comprised of man and orc alike struggle to remain free of the elven Empire.  4.  Threats, Conflicts, Villains.  Lizardfolk shaman in skull masks offer sacrifices to their living god, the black dragon Ashengorath.  Goblinoid armies, united under the mighty hobgoblin tactician Warkhan Gruul, stand against the Imperial armies on the Steppes of Gorraithün.  Human cultists engage in cannibalistic rites, rising as ghouls upon their deaths.  West of the Gandir Mountains, vampire lords and their spawn threaten the solitary strongholds of man, held in check only by the vigilant priests of Sheol, Lord of the Grave.  Throughout the lands, whispers can be heard that the legendary drow are poised to rise and cast the world into darkness.  The Azkanel, humans trained as assassins and dark rangers by their drow masters in centuries past, once again ride the night. 5.  Nature of Magic.  Magic is a pervasive force that can unleash the possibilities inherent in the natural world.  While the secrets of high wizardry are closely guarded by the elven Masters at the  Palaestra Arcanum, sorcerers harness magic without the benefit of formal training.  Those who faithfully serve the gods of the land, both good and vile, are granted power by their deities.  Others have mastered the art of tapping the latent psionic potential of the mind.   6.  What’s New?  What’s Different?  Empire Ascendant is a vibrant fantasy setting that maintains internal consistency and logic.  If the heroes, magic and monsters of Dungeons & Dragons were to really exist, their world might look like this.  Empire Ascendant builds upon themes set forth in the Core Rulebooks and Psionics Handbook, its rich history explaining why halflings have no homeland of their own, the prevalence of half-orcs, the relationship between psionics and arcane magic, and the descent of the drow into villainy.  Political complexity runs the gamut from totemic tribes to the high intrigue of the Imperial Court.  The diversity of the setting allows for epic story arcs, while still providing ample monster-haunted ruins for intrepid treasure-seekers.</blockquote>

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