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Message: <blockquote data-quote="cmbarona" data-source="post: 4655693" data-attributes="member: 71281">I'm beginning my very first D&D campaign, and I'd love to post what's happening and hear some feedback/suggestions as I plan and play. There's plenty of gaps to be filled and adventure to be planned, but I'm quite excited about the whole ordeal. I'll make a general post here, where I'll describe the setting and general plot, and I'll edit as things change. I will then make future posts for each actual game session.SETTINGWe will be playing in a highly magical world, where magic fills the role of most of our technological inventions today (e.g., cell phones, subway, computers, etc.). We'll be playing in the sprawling metropolis of Avalon, the Human-run capital city of the originally Eladrin nation, which I have yet to name. Avalon is divided into eight residential districts, each of which is mainly inhabited by a different race. Each race also has a particular specialty in the city and world at large, though many exceptions (and quite interesting ones) exist.<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Dragonborn run the police and military, and the majority of the executive branch of government. In addition to keeping peace in the city, they also ensure protection of caravans and travelers to, from, and even within Avalon.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Dwarves run CubeCorp, a company specializing in making varieties of gelatinous cubes, whose headquarters are in Avalon. They compete with ElemenTech (see below) for household power sources, and specialize in sewage processing and pharmaceuticals.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Eladrin run ElemenTech, a company specializing in finding utilitarian uses for elementals. Their headquarters have been in Avalon longer than CubeCorp's, so some of them consider the Dwarves' work to be an intrusion. In addition to providing their own household services, they specialize in transportation and communications magic.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Elves run the Hunter's Guild. The countryside surrounding Avalon is absolutely teeming with wildlife, and there has been little need to herd animals over the years because of the Elves' effectiveness. They will also investigate and eliminate monstrous beasts whenever they pop up.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Half-Elves have long found a home ordering the religious life of Avalon, and continue to do so quite successfully. A note on religion in this world: Everyone worships a single God, who has no particular name, but no one can seem to agree on what God is like from a theological perspective. Instead, over the years there have been saints whose lives people consider in order with the ways of God. There are hundreds of such saints, and for our purposes, they have the same names and characteristics of the deities in D&D materials. So, for example, there is a Church of Saint Ioun, who focuses on the prophetic and academic aspects of God.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Halflings are a much more peaceful lot, and they run the agricultural industry. Their wizards are also in charge of weather control for Avalon. Finally, Halflings are well-known for their hospitality, and run many taverns, inns, nightclubs, sporting events, and brothels.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Humans excel at establishing and running governments, and the rest of the races are quite happy to hand that responsibility over to them. Humans tend to be very respectful of other races, and are seen as good judges for their fair and balanced points of view. They run the legislative and judicial branches of Avalon's government.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Tieflings run two very different fields: On one hand, they excel at accounting and bookkeeping, and run the Avalon Revenue Service. On the other hand, the ghettos of their district are home to a very notorious crime syndicate, which I also have yet to name. Tieflings are generally loathe to let the two hands conflict, and even the Syndicate pays what they consider "taxes" to Avalon, which surprisingly keeps a lot of money in the coffers of very legitimate governmental branches.</li> </ul>GENERAL PLOT (My POV)Avalon takes place in an incredibly high-magic world. However, this magic is slowly but surely fading. No one knows why, and most people are blissfully unaware of this effect. As time goes on, though, people will see what is happening, and they will panic. Cubes will get sick, elementals will frenzy, weather will go haywire, animals will mutate, etc. I MAY have them play in a low-magic setting by the time Epic rolls around, but I'm leaning against it at the moment.A small few already see the impending loss of magic and, in trying to decipher the reason for it all, have come to very differing conclusions.Group 1: MegiddoFollowers of "saints" that most churches have deemed heretical, Megiddo is a death cult that believes the end of the world is fast approaching. Their activities are still invested in exploring what to do with this information, but they are quite convinced that the abundant use of magic will speed the impending apocalypse. I'm thinking they are an excellent source of some undead intrigue.Group 2: Dispel!A group that formed as a radical offshoot of PETE (People for the Ethical Treatment of Elementals), Dispel! also sees dark times ahead. However, their conclusion is that the overuse of magic is somehow polluting the manafield. They seek to sabotage activities of CubeCorp and ElemenTech and in general decrease magic use.The two groups know about each other, and despise each other, but they are also incredibly secretive. Both sides would rather die than be taken alive, and bite down on poisonous false molars when they see they are about to be taken in combat. Because of the lack of outside distinguishing characteristics, their activities are often confused. Megiddo has been discovered by the players, but Dispel! has not.THE CAST OF (PLAYER) CHARACTERS<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Imrahil Dirkensen: Elven Ranger. Imrahil was recently accepted as an apprentice of the Hunter's Guild. He has an interesting family: a grandfather (Clouthen) who is a retired Hunter, a mother (Betty) and father (Clloyd) who run a dagger-producing business, and 4 siblings: an older sister (Tandy), an opera singer; a younger brother (Varkel), an entrepeneur; another brother (Mowset) who's pretty much a rake; and another sister (Rose), who is still in school.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Erevan Nailo: Eladrin Paladin of St. Avandra. Erevan's father (Quarrion) and mother (Shanairra) are technicians at ElemenTech.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Shaddock Thornbeard: Dwarven Cleric of St. Corellon. Shaddock was orphaned and left at the church as a baby. He has always felt closer to the Half-Elves than the Dwarves because of it.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Rell: Halfling Rogue. Rell is an agent of an underground organization, "Divine Intervention," which pretty much does dirty work for the government in the name of the greater good. They are quite interested in tracking Megiddo's activities, and are currently unaware of Dispel!</li> </ul></blockquote>

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