Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="Voadam" data-source="post: 8405250" data-attributes="member: 2209"><a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/239788/Arcanis-5E--The-Blessed-Lands-Codex-Geographica-vol-I?affiliate_id=17596" target="_blank">Arcanis 5E - The Blessed Lands Codex Geographica vol. I</a>5eHeadless Raider: As the Imperium of Man was beset by the Sword of the Heavens and his Nierite army of the Cleansing Flame, not everyone rallied to the Imperator’s cause. A group of Yhing hir, members of some of the val’Haupt’s vassal families, used the chaos that ensued to raid undefended towns and rob the host of refugees fleeing the capital of all their worldly possessions, as well as exact some much needed revenge.Led by Urcatto, a merciless former centurion of a cavalry auxilia, the raiders numbered fifty veteran horsemen who spent years training and fighting together. When their home villages were threatened by Leonydes val’Virdan and his forces, his troops were forbidden from engaging the Nierite army and instead were ordered to provide protection to the families of the Imperial Court who were fleeing to the west. This so enraged Urcatto that he disobeyed orders and fled across the Blessed Lands, skirting around the invaders until reaching his homeland, only to find his family slaughtered and his village burnt to the ground. Gathering the few survivors that escaped the carnage, Urcatto and his raiders began a long campaign of vengeance on both the Nierite forces and the fleeing imperial refugees, enriching themselves in the process.For years, even after the fall of the Imperium, Urcatto and his raiders preyed upon everyone from Nierite warriors to merchant caravans, mocking the Sword of the Heavens and his inability to protect those traveling through Blessed Lands in the hopes of luring the newly installed imperator out from his throne room and into battle. These constant pinpricks against Leonydes finally roused his ire and he engaged Urcatto with only his personal bodyguards, but rather than doom the Nierite leader, Urcatto ruefully discovered that the Sword of the Heavens was unstoppable on the battlefield. Within hours, his raiders were defeated and soon faced the flaming justice of the Paragon of Nier. Urcatto and his five remaining lieutenants were forced to watch the execution of his followers, until finally Leonydes himself beheaded the last of the raiders and buried their heads in the dry earth of the Blessed Lands, leaving their bodies out to rot.Unbeknownst to the Nierites, a small group of Urcatto’s people remained in hiding while the battle took place. One of these was a village shaman who took the bodies of the six decapitated raiders and performed profane and unclean rites upon them. He called upon the dark spirits of the cursed land to infuse the bodies of Urcatto and his men so that they could continue seeking vengeance against the Nierites. For eight days and nights the shaman invoked his foul rites until on the ninth evening, the light of the green moon shone down upon the bodies and Urcatto and his men rose, their chilling laugh made all the more unreal given that they were headless.Urcatto, Headless Raider: As the Imperium of Man was beset by the Sword of the Heavens and his Nierite army of the Cleansing Flame, not everyone rallied to the Imperator’s cause. A group of Yhing hir, members of some of the val’Haupt’s vassal families, used the chaos that ensued to raid undefended towns and rob the host of refugees fleeing the capital of all their worldly possessions, as well as exact some much needed revenge.Led by Urcatto, a merciless former centurion of a cavalry auxilia, the raiders numbered fifty veteran horsemen who spent years training and fighting together. When their home villages were threatened by Leonydes val’Virdan and his forces, his troops were forbidden from engaging the Nierite army and instead were ordered to provide protection to the families of the Imperial Court who were fleeing to the west. This so enraged Urcatto that he disobeyed orders and fled across the Blessed Lands, skirting around the invaders until reaching his homeland, only to find his family slaughtered and his village burnt to the ground. Gathering the few survivors that escaped the carnage, Urcatto and his raiders began a long campaign of vengeance on both the Nierite forces and the fleeing imperial refugees, enriching themselves in the process.For years, even after the fall of the Imperium, Urcatto and his raiders preyed upon everyone from Nierite warriors to merchant caravans, mocking the Sword of the Heavens and his inability to protect those traveling through Blessed Lands in the hopes of luring the newly installed imperator out from his throne room and into battle. These constant pinpricks against Leonydes finally roused his ire and he engaged Urcatto with only his personal bodyguards, but rather than doom the Nierite leader, Urcatto ruefully discovered that the Sword of the Heavens was unstoppable on the battlefield. Within hours, his raiders were defeated and soon faced the flaming justice of the Paragon of Nier. Urcatto and his five remaining lieutenants were forced to watch the execution of his followers, until finally Leonydes himself beheaded the last of the raiders and buried their heads in the dry earth of the Blessed Lands, leaving their bodies out to rot.Unbeknownst to the Nierites, a small group of Urcatto’s people remained in hiding while the battle took place. One of these was a village shaman who took the bodies of the six decapitated raiders and performed profane and unclean rites upon them. He called upon the dark spirits of the cursed land to infuse the bodies of Urcatto and his men so that they could continue seeking vengeance against the Nierites. For eight days and nights the shaman invoked his foul rites until on the ninth evening, the light of the green moon shone down upon the bodies and Urcatto and his men rose, their chilling laugh made all the more unreal given that they were headless.Flaming Steed: ?Spirit Swarm: A Headless Raider binds all of its victim’s souls to it, creating a swarm of spirits which rend anyone who comes close.[A]ny creature reduced to 0 hit points with the rider’s spectral claws suffer disadvantage on all death saving throws, if the creature dies they are drawn into the raider’s spirit swarm and dead forever.Since that time, ages ago, the Headless Raiders ride out of the Blessed Lands upon their undead steeds whenever the green light of Viridis shines down upon them. The souls of all those who fell to their blades are dragged behind them, tethered to their unnatural mounts, and forced to fight on their behalf.Undead: Also known as the Twin Towers, this enormous structure’s centerpiece are its two turrets, one dedicated to Beltine and the other to Her husband, Neroth, which stand in the eastern portion of the Blessed Lands. With the exception of the Lost Citadel of Nier, no other fortification is as feared or avoided as these two. Legend has it that generation upon generation of adherents and zealots of those deities were bound to the towers upon their deaths, acting as eternal guardians. Even more terrifying is that the countless enemies captured during the centuries that the Imperium held sway were sacrificed to Neroth or Beltine, with either their desiccated bodies or spirits doomed to defend their former foes for eternity.Bloated Undead: ?Malicious Undead: ?Undead Steed: ?Ghost: Of Leonydes, even after almost five decades, only wild and unsubstantiated rumors are all that remain. Many claim he died at the hand of the same forces that decimated his army. A few whisper that he is still alive, a prisoner within the lost Citadel of Nier, there to be tortured for eternity at the hands of his many victims, ghosts that will not rest until their thirst for vengeance is satiated.Aquatic Ghoul: ?Ghoul: ?Skeleton: Black Wind weather event.Specter: Counted among the most haunted places in the First City, this ancient manor house must have once belonged to a wealthy member of the aristocracy or merchant class given its location and impressive construction. The spire towers on the two foremost corners gives a clue that the manse was built, or at least the towers raised, during the middle dynastic period of the Imperium, where such spires were in architectural vogue.The irresistible lure of riches still unclaimed within this place tugs at the greed of many an adventurer and scholar, looking to bring to light artifacts from another age, purely for research and posterity, of course. What they found within were terrible spectral horrors that attacked when they ventured beyond the once opulent foyer.Every expedition into the old house has met with ever more increasing hostility until a Beltinian priestess of some notoriety made her way into the place. After fending off an initial attack that forced her to run blindly through the house and eventually through a rotted wall, the priestess discovered that this was once the meeting place of a secret society of Beltinians. By communing with one of the less hostile spirits, she discovered that this group would find those that wished to end their existence due to an unhappy life, a blemish upon their or their family’s honor, or for some other unbearable reason. Suicide to escape one’s lot in life being a loathsome sin in the eyes of the God’s, these tortured souls were damned if they did and damned if they didn’t.This society gave them another way out. They would be given release from this life through a sanctified ritual that would not displease the Gods. In exchange, their souls would forever more be tethered to this place, tasked with defending it and the members of this esoteric order, unless commanded to move beyond these walls at the command of the order’s leader.There was one last bit of information imparted upon the priestess that made her depart hastily. This house had been a spirit trap for so long that any who die here will find that their soul cannot move on to face the Judgment of Nier and then on to the afterlife, but instead become one of the legion of specters confined herein.Spectral Fire Wraith: ?Wraith: ?Zombie: Black Wind weather event.Black WindThe Black Wind appears most commonly in the western end of the Blessed Lands near the foothills of the Aqtau Mountains. It typically takes the form of a purplish cloud that drops viscous precipitation, which is immediately absorbed by any surface it falls upon. Within seconds, any corpse that may be buried in the ground is animated, creating several undead creatures. These undead last for the duration of the storm and have an intense hunger for any living creature they can find. These storms can last anywhere from minutes to hours.Range: Varied (often 1-mile radius)Duration: Varied (10 minutes to 6 hours)Effect: While the storm rages, each minute, 2d6 skeletons or zombies rise out of the ground within 100 feet of any living creature. The undead will target these living creatures until the storm ends, after which they simply collapse. This weather event can easily scale up to give Heroes of any level either a terrifying challenge or act as a simple reminder of the dangers of the Blessed Lands.</blockquote>

Verification