D&D Nerdery 2: Savage Opakaw 3: The Ruination

The Words of St. Galain

1. Lo, the darkness took over the land.  The races three were now divided and shattered into many more.  Where stood the Elves now stood beings of such grace as the Eladrin.
2. But in this time of darkness grace would not be tolerated to exist upon itself.  And the Eladrin and those untwisted had to face with a darker cousin.  And darker still were the Fomor.  And the chains they began to place upon their cousins.
3. Silence let it's oppressive weight be felt during each of our sermons and even our holiest warriors began to have doubts.  
4. The darkest thoughts of our flock magnified during this period after the Shattering.  The faithless grew amongst them and spread their foul words through the minds of the grieving.  And the presence of the demonborn was an insult to our Faith.
5. And as the doubts and the dark thoughts magnified and the demonborns very existence mocked us, that negative energy coalesced into a being.
6. A being darker than the Fomor.  One that made the demonborn seem more a blessing than a curse.  And as befitting its darkness, it hid in the shadows and twisted further. 
7. Whole settlements of humans marched to the sealed mountain homes of the Dwarves, at the base of the God's river.  They began to war upon the very earth that sealed the dwarves in.  
8. And once they penetrated, dark beings of tusk and putrid skin flowed outward and massacred the makeshift army.  
9. Every last soul was lost that day, and that statement is true to its core.  For these beings, these Orcs, piled every last body into the Holy River.  And there the Darkness revealed itself.  
10. The mountain of bodies melted down into the holy waters.  Putrid diseases of kinds never before in our lands spread from the waters.  
11. The black waters spread quickly, infecting every last settlement it passed through.  Those unafflicted fled to the safety of the forests to the north and south. 
12. Those afflicted died a painful death even our most powerful prayers could not alleviate.  And as our flock saw once again our power questioned, the lack of faith spread further.
13. In response we walked away from our duty to tend the flock.  We stopped our attempts at alleviating the pain and suffering of the afflicted.  Peace and Love was replaced with Revenge and Justice.
14. We assembled an army.  At its core our best clerics, now praying for guidance in battle.
15. Defending them and being the strong backbone of this army were our former Temple Defenders, now dubbed Paladins of the Faith.
16. The most fervent amongst our new warriors were declared to be Avengers.  For they shall avenge all the insults done to our peoples and our Lord.
17. We marched up the desecrated river and warred upon the Orcs that served our Enemy.  They fell before our righteous might and on we marched.
18. Up the mountain of bodies that our blades created.  Up to the Enemy itself, who gazed down from the base of the river he conquered from our Lord.
19. Our mightiest prayers were uttered, calling for the holy light to cleanse the darkness from our land.  And our prayers combined and unleashed such radiance from the heavens.  Our hearts lifted at the sight.
20. And then sunk at the reality.  For as the radiance hit the Enemy, it was taken inside and twisted.  Suddenly that radiance was made Dark and unleashed upon us.  
21. Many of our warriors fell instantly at the touch and rose again to fight us.  The fallen's holy powers were twisted to that of darkness.  And each of us who were touched by their blades would fall and rise again to make war upon our fellows.
22. As all seemed lost and our holy army began to break, a light broke out onto the heavens.
23. A voice spoke out to me, asking me to accept the God within my Heart.  I did so and as I did I felt myself swelled with such power.
24. I heard my voice speak out a word from a language I had never heard before, and the Dark One recoiled.  
25. A Gate of Silver appeared in the sky and swung open, revealing behind it a large host of angelic warriors.  The warriors flew over our fallen comrades and turned them to ash, and we stood in place as we watched them fly upon the Dark One.
26. The Dark One, however, fought back.  Those we thought invincible fell before his blade, but did him great damage as well.
27. And I knew then that it required more than just a spoken word, no matter how holy, to defeat this one.  I climbed up the mountain as the angels and the Dark One warred.
28. Upon reaching the summit I threw myself at the unholy thing that so insulted our Lord and invoked all the power I had felt the God grant me.  
29. A Blade of silver and light appeared in my hand and plunged into the chest of the Dark One.  I felt the coldness of his being began to infect my soul.  I pushed away and flung myself backwards, watching as the light enveloped it.
30. And so the war was won but with cost.  The Angels streamed back through the gate and closed it.  Our Holy Order given a new task.
31. For the river is still unhallowed and beings of dark power and death now roam along its banks.  The core of our land now rendered inhospitable.
32. But we remain.  We remain under the lands and fight back.  Our Lord, now reviled amongst our former flock, strengthens our will with this holy cause.
33. Soon the river shall turn blue again, and the darkness that has enveloped us all will finally cease.

D&D Nerdery 2: Savage Opakaw 2: The Shattering

The Shattering

Pretext

What follows is a concise summary of the shattering, using both that which our own forebears recorded for us and the tales that have spread amongst the savages.  We have extensively trained both tale-tellers and enterprising wizards to leave our ivory tower and find all manner of knowledge now lost to us.  

Dragons

The existence of Dragons had long been hypothesized due to the artwork of pre-imperial times.  But our guild, as well as most scholars and philosophizers  decided that the depictions that were deemed dragons were just overly stylized crocodiles.  Many state that if we had known we could have been prepared, but what followed their arrival none could have been prepared for.

Over the ocean they came and they instantly decimated our seaside towns.  Those were our weakest defenses, of course, as only a few existed and seaside trade had proven to be more of a loss than a profit to our merchants.  

The tales of the few survivors told of us majestic lizards, streaming out magic that even the oldest and most talented of the elves would have found impossible.  They were larger than the oliphants and the colours of their scales gleamed in the light.  The number we were told was low, just but 6, yet the entire seaside was in ruins.  And after that attack they had disappeared for weeks.

We immediately went to work going through our oldest tomes for any information on these new invaders. And as we found nothing we watched in horror as panic spread quickly throughout the empire.  The elves, those that live the longest and have the best histories, were thought to have covered up their existence and demagogues in the streets riled up ancient racism against them.

But just as gang violence began to rear its head in the streets the dragons showed up again, their foul breath and warping spells worked along the elvish forests.  And the magic was so great that even the elves in the towns along the river and our towers began to be warped. The ones outside of their forests ended up melting down to the horror of all, the ones inside their forests split into divergent species.  The chaos of the change caused the elves to drop out of the Empire and cease all contact and trade.

The nobles could not agree on what to do next and many ideas were proposed.  This gridlock led to little being done except an emphasis on archery training, as well as our own training in more destructive magics.  The clerics put further effort into contacting their deity, but even Its agents were not responding to the spells.

However the next attack would split the humans and dwarves apart.  The dragons once again attacked human lands, and their nobles began to formulate a desperation plan.  The dwarves, meanwhile, began to study transmogrification magics in a vain attempt to help the elves.

The humans desperate plan was pulled off first, as the noble families of the empire summoned many outsiders to plead with.  The outsiders instantly ruined the capital as they fought amongst themselves, and the demons that were left agreed to fight for the Empire.  For a price, of course.  They formed a plan of attack and waited.

The dwarves at this time, having seen the damage the demons had already done, balked and withdrew to their mountain strongholds.  There they tested the magic they thought would save the elves, but instead it twisted them as well.

And as for the desperate plans of the humans?  It could be argued that it succeeded.  The dragons attacked once more, and the demons teleported themselves as well as battle mages and the soldiers to the site of the battle.  A dragon actually fell that day, and those that remained cast their horrible warping spells.  And these spells interacted with the natural resistance of the demons, causing some of the essence to bounce back upon the dragons.  The whole battlefield erupted and once the spells were done none remained the same.  The dragons, demons and humans ended up mixing and creating new species.  The humans outside of the battle remained untouched.

This was enough to cause the death of the empire that was.  But to fall as far as civilization had required a few more steps.  The most damaging of these additional steps was the fouling of the river.

D&D Nerdery 2: Savage Opakaw

No one living now can remember as far back as that which was.  Opakaw now just lives in legend, handed down from storyteller to storyteller through the generations.

To hear the tales of it now invites the listener to envision the paradise that that empire must have been.  It is stated that it was an empire ruled by families of humans, elves, and dwarves.  Each race living in harmony with the others, despite them all living in different parts of the realm.

The humans, of course, founded their cities upon the river that the empire took its name from and its tributaries.  They were industrious and expanded quickly.   And ever seeking out better materials and better methods of which to do things.  Which led them both to their future partners.

To the south, of course, were the elves.  The forest was thick but still traversable, unlike that which we find ourselves in today.  And the elves were very knowledgeable with their magics and the humans quick learners.  Through the bond forged over magic the elves and humans banded together, and the first division of the races began with that as the two even bred together to create a half-breed.  First reviled, these half-breeds eventually began to be lavished upon.  Many of the later Consuls were from their stock.

And to the north were the dwarven smiths.  Found by the humans as they traveled further up the Opakaw seeking the source of the minerals that would occasionally wind up in the river.  And there they found the Dwarves, living along the mountains that formed The Roof Of The World.  There they mined and smithed, and the best metals in the world were theirs to command.  Desiring the access to such resources, the humans welcomed them into the fold.

And soon the realm was at rest.  The three primary races stood in harmony and the tales tell us all was at peace.  Common knowledge, even now, states that a citizen could traverse from one end of this empire to another and worry not of any hazard befalling them.  Bandits were unheard of, and dangerous animals warded off with magical tokens freely available to all.  The God, with its benevolence, shown down its light upon all of civilization.  Do not give me that look, for I have not named It nor would I.  But It must be included for a tale to be complete.

A true peace, a strong empire that lasted for a thousand years.  So the tales say, anyhow.  Some hint at even longer.  The tales state such fantastic things were commonplace.  The water was always crystal clear and the food could be kept for days on end.  Diseases were unheard of and it was said that a common man could live for a hundred years without troubles.  Paradise indeed.

But tales of paradise do not get told without dwelling upon what happened to paradise.  And there are indeed many tales of how that paradise got shattered and of how we ended up as we are now.  But that is for tomorrow as the night draws us to our sleep.

Please remember to keep that fire well lit for it will ward off the lizards.  And those who stand guard tonight; do not break the circle for that is what will keep us safe from the dangers of this jungle.

D&D Nerdery: Winterthur Part 2: PC Races

Races

Winterthur, as most cities that formed the old empire, is a human dominated.  Other civilized races may have turned inwards but it does not mean they do not exist.  This here is a listing of the various races in the Players Handbook and the Players Handbook 2.

D&D Nerdery: Winterthur

The city of Winterthur is the last sign of civilization in the north.  Sure there are some villages further north that house and serve those that live out even closer to the wilderness, but none are very large nor visited by much beyond farmers, soldiers and tax collectors.

The fact that civilization is slowly crumbling is very evident on the roads surrounding Winterthur.  To the more civilized south the roads are evidently still heavily used, but not the strong straight concrete that it once was.  To the north the road is even more heavily ruined, but it still makes it to the villages in what could be generously described as 'one-piece.'  To the east, into the mountains where once trade was handled with the industrious Dwarves, the roads are long neglected and extend not much further than the final village.  And to the west the roads disappear into the ravenous forest, which is encroaching further and further upon lands claimed by the settlement every year.

Soldier patrols are stronger every year to combat the wildness and desperation taking hold.  Of course with increased patrols comes increased taxes, which adds to the desperation.  Bandits along the southern road, wild goblins and orcs hounding the eastern parts of the settlement, raiders pillaging the north and creatures that reek of magic haunting the western.

Inside the high and thick walls that surround the city (Ignoring for the moment the densely-populated Vorstadt which are surrounded by smaller walls and house the trades) things are less desperate, at least they are on the surface.  The Markets are often packed, and the guildhalls are well maintained.  The houses of the noble families form an inner ring that surrounds the center of the city where the hall of government sits.

Leadership

The ruler of the city is Margrave Zanne of the family Kyburg.  She is a young woman who has been the ceremonial ruler since she was six years old, and actual ruler for the past 4 years.  She is advised by the heads of the guilds, the noble families and occasionally the mayors of the nearby villages.  

The official religion of Winterthur, as in many former imperial cities, is Erathis.  The head of the church is the ruler of the city.  Given Zanne was Margrave at the age of 6 she was given the charge of running the church at that young age.  This has led her to be more pious than many past rulers.

Economy

Given the cost of the Linked Portal ritual, only magical items travel via portals, though occasionally higher end artistic craftsmanship will as well.  The trade goods all travel the old fashioned way, either by boat or road, and thus are prey to the bandits to the south and north.

The guildhalls inside the city are a strong part of the city politics, and thus can be truly said to no longer represent their guilds interests properly.  As the power of the Empire waned and finally collapsed, the families of the city saw the guilds as a way to increase their own money.  So most of these guilds are now ran by various noble families and the Guildmaster has become a hereditary one.

The mages guild is the major exception to this rule.  The Mages guild, due to their teleportation circles, is in constant contact with the other Mage guilds throughout the old lands of the empire.  There is a clear structure that runs through the various guilds.

Vorstadt

The Vorstadt mostly lies along the southern and western walls, sandwiched between the city and the river.  It is a densely populated area where most of the city’s trades are done, and so the smell is..unpleasant to say the least.  The people of the Vorstadt are of a variety of races (Unlike the mostly human interior of the city).  

The population of the Vorstadt is rapidly increasing.  As raids increase on the farms and villages surrounding Winterthur, not to mention the forest claiming an ever increasing amount of land, people flee to the city of their liege for help.  Most of those people end up in the Vorstadt, some joining an honest trade.  Many others resorting to begging, or worse.

The guildhalls in the interior of the city claim to control their respective trades that are done out in the Vorstadt, but they hold little true control.  All the smiths still pay their ever-increasing dues, they have to of course by city fiat, but many of them have a closer influence they must answer to.  

Crime has always been an issue in the Vorstadt, but it’s gotten increasingly worse as more bodies press inside.  The old Vorstadt ‘Guild’, a mockery on the other guilds, that kept overt crime at a low to prevent the soldiers from intervening has splintered into competing factions.  Now to too many tradesman one does not pay protection money to just one organized guild, but to many different gangs.  And woe to the smith who decides to gamble and only pay to select gangs.  Too often they choose poorly.

Other Lands / Races

Southern Lands

Things up in the north sound dire, but they are no better in the south.  As the empire withdrew into its core lands, petty kings began to pop up in their old lands.  And once the empire finally collapsed, the various cities in its core all declared themselves strong states of their own.  And as is often in a place of many kingdoms and city-states, war is common.

Elves

The elves have always been more aloof and distant to the old empire, but they often had ambassadors and traders interacting.  Since the fall they’ve turned more inward and are rather rare to come across.  Though some do live in human lands.

Dwarves

The Dwarves turned inward before the empire collapsed, about the same time as Orcs began to threaten the boundaries.  Traders are rarely seen, though some cities have dwarven enclaves.