OOC Thread_In the Tall, Dark Pines: a Tale of Braxus

[scadgrad]

A Simple Map

Nameless,

Your sidhe wanderer probably belongs to the Kingdom of Oaks. This realm lies in the Forest of Tears (there is a longer Sidhe word, but for our purposes this is fine) that lies in the SE part of Fryssia and runs into Southern Dortlund. You won't find it on your map since the map is very general and drawn from a human perspective.

Your PC is quite young and probably IS somewhat fearless. Of course exposure to the mindnumbing violence that many adventurers & explorers often witness will probably change his world view.

Remember, the Sidhe are immortal, and as such, they know that the Plane of Faerie is where they will arrive should they be slain in Braxus. Unfortunately, as exiles, their fate in the Faerie Court is not a pleasent one or at least, this is what most scholars believe. For that reason, they soon grow to at least appreciate the relative immunity that they enjoy as exiles and endeavor to remain in Braxus.

I've attached a map to this thread. It is a very simple B&W affair (I like the old school maps) and very human-centric. The cities that are denoted are major ports of call and the primary centers of trade in the world. You'll notice that Necrovidia is nearly featureless in this map, but it does show you a relative position of the various lands in Braxus. I'll have a detailed Necrovidia map ASAP.

I have a better PDF of this map if you want to print it out. It's too big to upload to EnWorld so I just made a quick jpg. LMK if you want the better map & I'll email it to you.

 

[scadgrad]

For those of you playing humans, other than Monster & Purple Knight, I need to know your homeland. Take a look again at the word doc & figure out where you're PC must have originated from. I believe William for example has the feat Dark Favor which means that he is most likely from Nur Bereleth and therefore Hudan.

I realize that this isn't as clear as it should be & I'll address that when I do the "official 3.5 update."

 

[Vargo]

I've updated Argento a little bit, given him a small bit of history text, a rift with his father, and changed his skills slightly. PCGen thinks that Ride is affected by encumbrance.

 

[ferretguy]

Still thinking on history of Jackson. Need to know a little more about Dortlund..what is it about that area that builds a strong fearlessness in its people? Is it a wild country?

 

[scadgrad]

Vargo & Ferret Guy,

Looks like both of your charaters are from Dortlund (IIRC you chose Fearless as a HBF) so it makes sense that your PCs would speak Dortish. The Hudan tongue is COMMON for this particular campaign so you get it for free. Weird that you'd have to "pay for" your native tongue so just take it for free. It's a loophole in the campaign that I will try to address in the next re-write.

What makes the Dorts so fearless

Well, for one thing they are a hearty folk who have held off the Hudan for generations. Hudan longboats have rarely succeeded in raids along the shores of Dortlund. Much of this can be attributed to the warrior spirit of the Dorts, themselves every bit as violent as their northern kin, the Hudan. In the days of the Empire, when the humans of Braxus worshipped the Old Gods, Bhaal & Pavaliene were the principal dieties. These two dieties are still admired and play into the local culture & folklore in ways that are tolerated by the now, firmly entrenched Mother Church. During the reign of the Assydians, the Dorts were the most difficult-to-conquer of the peoples of the Middle Kingdoms. In truth, Assydian control over the region was tenuous at best and the Dorts continue to be quite proud of this. Their austere society produced both shield maidens and warriors of considerable tenacity.

In many ways, the coming of the Church only served to unify the Dorts. The peaceful tenents of the religion have smoothed away the rough edges, but there is a strong following for St. Genevieve. The Knights of the Bitter Rose (Paladins and clerics who follow the example of St. Genevieve the martyr) are revered in Dortlund as near living saints.

In truth, Braxus draws heavily upon a wide range of Western European archetypes and mythos. Seen in that light, the Dorts would be best described as equal parts Dark Ages Germanic tribes, mixed w/ the warrior ethos of Sparta.

Hope that helps.

 

[Drakknyte32]

Actually I had a different homeland in mind for William that goes with his background. If you don't like it I can change it but I will have to change his background as well.

William was born and raised as a simple farmer's child in Fryssia. However each of his parents had a magical lineage several generations back. His father is the descendent of a powerful Demon-Touched Sorceror from Nur Bereleth. And his mother carries a trace of Sidhe blood from the Kingdom of Shadow. Both of these bloodlines have combined in William to give him his sorcery and Dark Favor. This is why the villagers ran him out, they feared he was cursed and Demon-Touched. Which in a way he was.

 

[scadgrad]

Actually I had a different homeland in mind for William that goes with his background. If you don't like it I can change it but I will have to change his background as well.

William was born and raised as a simple farmer's child in Fryssia. However each of his parents had a magical lineage several generations back. His father is the descendent of a powerful Demon-Touched Sorceror from Nur Bereleth. And his mother carries a trace of Sidhe blood from the Kingdom of Shadow. Both of these bloodlines have combined in William to give him his sorcery and Dark Favor. This is why the villagers ran him out, they feared he was cursed and Demon-Touched. Which in a way he was.

Ahh, yes. OK, that's a bit of a different way to approach a homeland bonus feat, but as a Sorcerer it makes sense. I would imagine that William has the look of his Hudan ancestry as well and as such, might be mistaken as a memeber of that culture, albeit a Hudan who walks around in the guise of a Fryssian farmboy

 

[johnsemlak]

Scadgrad

I've given my char a tentative name. Could you shed any light on naming conventions for your setting?

 

[scadgrad]

Scadgrad

I've given my char a tentative name. Could you shed any light on naming conventions for your setting?

That name seems appropriate & is quite good actually. Again, Braxus is grounded in myth, legend & historical record of Western Europe. I think the allegories are somewhat obvious (perhaps too obvious...). Personally, I like names that have a familiar ring to them, but I'm not against complete fantasy invention as long as it's not too silly.

 

[ferretguy]

Thanks Scadgrad. Over this weekend will have time to do some work on this...so should be ready whenever your ready to work me in.