Tales of an Eternal Kingdom D&D 3.5 *Recruiting*

[Kagehiro]

I will begin to start-up a campaign. I have ran this scenario before. It's a white/black kind of campaign where the party needs to lean closer to the same polarity of alignment.

It's either the party is good/netural, or evil/neutral.

It's set in a world where it is split into a side where the sun never rises, and the other side where the sun never sets.

Thing of a ying-yang of astrological proportions.

I will be adding details as time goes on. Check the first page for updates. I'd like to get around 5 players if possible.

 

[Kagehiro]

History:

Long ago a continent adrift in an endless sea was united under one banner.
The heraldry of the Nephraim, the eternal counts. A court of blood-drinkers who had a legion of their kindred in their control.

It was not always that way. Once it was ruled by Mogarion the Valiant, a noble King who in his old years began to fear his mortality. He sought out all the arcane masters of the land to make him immortal. However it would come by the hand of a Cleric that he would find immortality. With a single sip of a black ichor he found his immortality, and in exchange the female cleric asked only that she be queen and remain by his side. A woman of beauty, class, and intellegence; the king found no trouble wedding her.

However he would find that on his honeymoon, the price he paid. He woke in the middle of the night in a cold sweat, he noticed he wasn't breathing. He needed to take no breath, and his body was cold as ice. He checked his heart to find it was no longer beating. His queen was gone, and he was hungry. With an insatiable thirst for blood.

He would descend into his court to tear apart the council in a frenzy for blood. His new fangs, and strength made the task an easy one. However with the comming of the dawn he descended into his family crypts to sleep. With the next night he found those he bit were like him, and so it began. The Court of the Eternal Night. They renamed themselves the Nephraim, in honor of Nepherata the women who made this all possible.

So from their most trusted knights they made more vampires, and soon their numbers were many. This reign would continue for 1,000 years before finally the people had reached their limit. As the population had paid a heavy tax of death, torture, and loss to these immortal men. Finally a cleric of Pelor came to put an end to it. His name was Valshoon, Lord of the Eternal Sun.

He had mastered a spell he knew would end this madness. He began to create a following of men and women who swore at all cost to end these bloodsuckers' reign. As they flooded the streets with their numbers they took torch and blade to their Lords. For each vampire that fell the undead took a hundred villagers. Soon the deathcount was pushing into the range of 10,000. Valshoon knew they would lose if this continued. So he cast his spell. As he finished his chanting the moon above split in two. One however took all the light, and the other took all the dark. They drifted to opposite ends of the island.

The capital shone brightly with light as it burned away the undead in one swoop of cleansing flame. At last their dark reign was over. However as Morgarion fell he knocked Valshoon off the castle wall and into the ramparts to be impaled. Morgarion leapt from the wall, and disappeared in a fog bank. The people got Valshoon from the rampart, and carried him into a mage tower used by the necromancers. There he told them to bring him a stone. He told them to leave the tower and never come back. He promised he would give up his chance to rejoin Pelor, so that the sun would never set again. So Valshoon's tower became a landmark, never to be opened again. His words however were true, and the sun never again set.

So now the Island is now split into two sides. The Kingdom of Eternal Light, and the Kingdom of Night. One ruled by the people who suffered the vampire, and the other still ruled by the kindred of Nephraim.

The Nephraim plot eternally how to break what they call "Valshoon's Curse", the Kingdom of Eternal Light spends their eternity figuring how to cleanse the lands once and for all of Nephraim.

However each side knows invasion is impossible. The vampire unable to stand the sun, and the humans being far weaker than the vampire. So it has come to be a stalemate. An eternal stalemate, where deaths are plentiful and peace is impossible.

Where you Begin:
A portal on the material plane leaves you standing in a forest at high-noon.... You hear a sound off in the distance. You explore it to find another adventurer. Soon others gather and you find all have similar stories... A man in a red cloak offered you (a) weapon/armor of incredible quality to help him with a magical experiment. After a few words from him you opened your eyes and found yourself in these woods.

 

[Kagehiro]

Geography:

Helvarta is a strange land. It is a massive land surrounded by spike like mountains. The mountains it would appear keep out the ocean surrounding this land. So the continent floats like a natural boat through the Eons. It is split into two sides, one of eternal night and the other of eternal light.

The side of light has become an overgrown forest with beautiful foliage and lush undergrowth.

The side of night now a barren wasteland of desert, where the cold sand softly caresses ancient cities and old ruins.

Cities:

Galsdaria: A sprawling labyrinth of a city, it is the capital of the Kingdom of Light. Like a tumor on the back of the continent it sprawls for hundreds of miles. The buildings being like catacombs and houses being built on houses. However this city is new in appearance and looks to have been built in the last 2,000 years. It bears no semblence to the stories of the vampire court some 3,000 years ago.

Landmarks in Galsdaria:

Valshoon Tower: In Galsdaria is the Valshoon Tower which stands some 30 stories, and is made of a combined effort of dwarven and elven craftsmanship. It is imbued with powerful magic that could withstand the power of even the greatest mages. Having it's protection consisting of a combined effort of generations worth of mages and clerics combining their talents to forge this powerful tower. It has dwarven hewn stone fused with powerful elven magic and fasteners, beneath it is a massive array of gnomish mechanical work that gives it shock absorption so that it doesn't move in the most powerful earthquakes. The magics around it make it impervious to any spell that is casted on it. Finally is the staff residing at the top, the staff belonging to Valshoon. Thrusted into the tower with his last breath to cause a barrier to surround it. None can even touch the tower without being thrown almost 100-yards.


Temple of Nephraim:
As the years passed the entire Nephraim empire folded in onto itself, eventually succumbing to the blood lust. They resorted to farming humans, leaving the land to eventually rot away to the lack of sun. Plants died off and as the years passed the sandy landscape became a moonlit fascade of beauty. Enticing humans to crossing the border to find fortune, or fame by slaying one of the damned.

The city itself is mesmerizing. The ancient arcane masters of the court used powerful magic to form the monolith of glass, forged from the sand it's built upon. It is held perfectly flat and at times actually floats as the sands are peeled away from beneath it from storms. Through the streets flow beautiful waterways with mirror like water that cleans away all the filth; so the city remains in it's perfection. Human slaves spend their entire lives constantly cleaning the streets; an honor compared to other living.

The immortals who make their home here have built an awe inspiring society where beings spend their eternity in pursuit of perfection in an art. Masters of music, swordsmanship, archery, animal husbandry, and artisans of all kinds; are formed by thousands of years of practice to hone their art to a science. Works of beauty are made here that cannot be replicated anywhere else in the planes. It is not uncommon for outsiders to find their way here to shower gifts of praise on an artisan or to purchase his wares.

Lastly is the castle of the court. A single monolith at the center of the ziggurat. This building of obsidian stone has no features save for a single opening. None but the council are allowed entry, and no accounts of it's interior are documented.

Underworks:
Millions of people have found themselves forced like cattle into the dense catacombs beneath the city. They have a daily regimen of breeding, forced feeding, and draining of blood. Every so often humans are favored by the kindred who see them as beautiful, or interesting; they are taken as pets by the kindred. However law now states the court must approve of any person who is to become a kindred. So the humans are documented, tagged, and tracked to protect the population from overgrowing in the kindred.

 

[Kagehiro]

Kingdom of Light:

Though the patron G-d of this land is Pelor, it has influences of any diety willing to fight on the side of good. This metropolis is home to hundreds of varients of every race and creed. Outsiders, and mortals alike have combined to make a gumbo of variations. Just as their are many races, so their are many beliefs. G-ds have found themselves created by cults in the city, and some have found their days numbered as cults shifted to evil and answered to the Pariahs.

Organizations:

Pariahs- The descendants of those who followed closest to Valshoon make up this class of people. Masters of blade and fire, these men stop at nothing to insure the wicked never return. Many people have found their days of necromancy or other devious arts ended with a Pariah's knock at the door. Hence the local expression "Quicker than a Pariah's knock".

Archons- Powerful war-mage casters. They make up the law-enforcement of the city. Capable of discerning the past and seeing who committed a crime, they make it impossible to escape. Each having the ability to scry, see the past, and fight with a wicked vengeance. They are the only known wielders of the rare Witchmetal. An alloy that responds to the wearers thoughts, to form any weapon they desire. The armor itself shifts to fend off blades, making it more effective than plate-mail and lighter than leather.

Tokai- Hunters of the damned, these men devote their lives to bringing back the heads of vampires. However most of these men instead never return from their travels. Being composed mostly of young brash men who have no other outlook but a suicidal path of vengeance.

 

[Kagehiro]

Kingdom of Night:

Devotees to the path of blood, their beliefs are known as "The Coils". Each coil bringing an aspect of the vampire code. When someone has earned their "Coils" a tattoo on the arm marks them as a member of the Nephraim. Their society is a complex one and each bloodline has it's own hierarchy. The bloodlines are the only known features of their society.

Nefera- The core bloodline from which the other three are derived from. This bloodline is known for their aristocratic ways and secrecy. In combat they perform as augmented humans but don't have the predominant features of their brethren.

Salgai- Hideously deformed creatures. They are noted by their pasty skin often the soft hue of grave-dirt, their pronounced incisor teeth, and their massive claws. Having lost their digits to their claws they have little to offer society, and so often are guards in the city if they aren't hermits.

Kalari- Lithe, beautiful creatures who are known in the city for their martial skills. Most masters of weapon arts are Kalari. These people have highly advanced speed and strength, and exceed all other kindred in martial combat. Kalari Assasins are often used for political persuasion in the Nephraim society.

Helgona- No one knows when this bloodline sparked, but it bears no semblence to the Nefera anymore. These beings always take the appearance of decrepit ancients. Having innate arcane powers, their kindred are casters who were embraced. The bloodline enhances the skills of the casters to levels unknown to any outside the Helgona. They live in the south side of the town in a Ziggurat much like the tower of the Council. None outside the Helgona are permitted in, but droves of human pets are brought there to never be seen again.

Council- A group of 9 that rules the town. 2 from each bloodline, and 1 other who has never been seen but is the head of the council.

Hands of the Council- The guardians of the council, they move in groups often composed of 2 Kalari as guards, 1 Nefera and occasionally may even contain 2 Helgona as support.

 

[Kagehiro]

House Rules/Barred Books: (will adjust as situations arise)


40-Point Buy System
Level 1 Start
Weapon OR Armor is free and of masterworked quality
If you are a monk then then we can work out some free equipment in trade



Book of Psionics/ barred

Ability Score:
To make things simple and keep it“fair” for everyone, ability scores are not going to be rolled. Instead they will use a 40 point system. All scores start out a straight (8) and you spend “points” to raise your ability score. The point cost to raise a ability score is listed below. A characterget 40 points to spend.
Ability Score Point Cost
8 -------------- 0
9 -------------- 1
10 ------------- 2
11 ------------- 3
12 ------------- 4
13 ------------- 5
14 ------------- 6
15 ------------- 8
16 ------------ 10
17 ------------ 13
18 ------------ 16
19 ------------ 20
20 ------------ 24
21 ------------ 29
22 ------------ 34
23------------- 40

 

[Kagehiro]

Characters:

 

[Andor]

Huh. Sounds interesting. Were you hoping to run the good campaign or the evil one?

I'm up for either one.

 

[Theroc]

40 point buy? Wow. Never saw a point buy that high.

And I am curious, which campaign would you prefer, good or evil?

 

[Kagehiro]

I like the evil side more for how tangled the web gets with the backstory to it. the eternal court has more layers than baklava. it's sort of fun because it's turns into a bait and switch with the pc's, and ends up with a good deal of chain yanking.

the good side is cool too though since it breaks out the ancient lore predating the vampire king.

however if enough interest is in, I could run both and end it with them working against each other.