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Hello there!
It has been a long time since I was excited with the RPG as a hobby like I am lately. The release of Mythic Adventures, Wrath of the Righteous Adventure Path and even D&D Next with the new (old?) Forgotten Realms attracted me to the gaming table again.
In view of this, I was thinking in an adaptation of the WotR Adventure Path (War of the Ring? hahaha) in Faerûn, due to the possibilities to use the mythology of the Realms to this great campaign concept of demon hunting and epic/mythic feel. Please don’t get me wrong, I am enjoying Golarion as a great campaign setting (I am running my Skull and Shackles campaign there), but the possibilities that WotR AP have in a well done adaptation into the Realms are too great to simply ignore them… I am calling my old teenager group back to the game again, and we have played FR for more than ten years!
In view of this, I am considering the following changes/assumptions for this campaign in my homebred Realms:
- The campaign shall take place in the 1400’s, due to the possibilities to fill these one hundred years gap with a rich history surrounding WotR;
- Even considering that certain issues occurred due to the Spellplague (especially the death of Mystra), my Realms are not like the Realms envisioned for D&D 4e (a dark “point of light” version of the Realms). They keep that sword and sorcery feel of the first editions of D&D, mainly the second and third editions, which my players enjoyed most. So there is no Abeir realms in Toril, the dragonborn are not a race from another planet (but in fact some rare individuals that went to the reborn procedure as described in Dragons of Faerûn), no plaguechanged and plaguelands stuff, Halruaa is still there (yay!) and most of the gods are still in their respective planes (Talos is not an aspect of Gruumsh, buddy!).
- The Worldwound shall be located in Narfell, a place with a rich history of demon summoning and worship in the past. Due to the death of Mystra and weakening (not destruction) of the Weave, certain places in the Prime Material Plane presented thinner passages for extraplanar and outsider creatures to enter into Faerûn.
- The nations of Damara and Impiltur shall retain their classic feel (tgink of the sourcebook The Bloodstone Lands and FRCS 2E/3e), and due to this they shall represent the role of Mendev into the campaign. In addition, another kingdom shall have a great role in this AP is Rashemen, due to the similarities of kellids and rashemi ethnicities.
- The role of Aroden in the defeat of Deskari (I am still thinking in use Eltab, but let’s leave this subject to another topic), would be substituted by the patron gods of Damara (Tyr) and Impiltur (Helm) in my Realms (yes, Helm was alive and well, but unfortunately not for so long). With the opening of the Worldwound, both deities sacrificed themselves in order to avoid the expansion of the corrupted lands to beyond the borders of Narfell and save the population of their Realms. Helm even provided the guidance to create the wardstones, which surround the Realms Worldwound as of the beginning of the campaign.
I shall provide a consolidated timeline involving the events of both the Worldwound and WotR Adventure Path inside my own Faerûn timeline (comparing the DR and AR equivalents).
I would like to hear from you any thoughts, ideas, suggestions and critics.
See ya!
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Yeah, I was thinking on that issue. The campaign shall begin in 1463 DR. I believe that it shall take place before the above mentioned event – especially because this AP shall have some repercussions in the Sundering that shall happen in the future.
Check below a brief timeline comparing the dates of both Faerunian and Avistan calendars. Certain events that took a longer time in Avistan happened more briefly in my timeline suggested below – and I sometimes used the names of the FR roll of years as a suggestion:
4606 AR / 1389 DR - The Year of the Forgiven Foes: opening of the Worldwound.
4622 AR / 1394 DR - The Year of Deaths Unmourned: beginning of the First Crusade.
4630 AR / 1399 DR - The Year of the Fallen Friends: ending of the First Crusade.
4638 AR / 1403 DR - The Year of the Hidden Harp: beginning of the Second Crusade.
4639 AR/ 1409 DR - The Year of True Omens: creation of the wardstones by the clergy of Helm (under its guidance), to protect the surrounding kingdoms of Narfell (especially Damara and Impiltur). Death of Helm in a titanic battle with Eltab, one of rulers of the Worldwound.
4645 AR / 1410 DR - The Year of the Eight-legged Mount: death of Tyr, in a combat against Orcus, Demogorgon and Deskari. Tyr rode a eight legged horse, similar to Sleipnir in norse mythology.
1415 DR – Year of the Staves Arcane: Seeking to have some protection from the damages of the Worldwound, the Witches of Rashemen order a raid in one of the cities with a wardstone, which is taken to be later placed at Rasehmen´s border to protect it against the demons. Such action was discovered years later, and the witch burning of the Third Crusade was used as a retribution of this theft.
4665 AR / 1428 DR - The Year of the Elfqueen's Joy: beginning of the Third Crusade and hunt to witches (especially those related to Rashemen), due to the discovery of the theft of a wardstone. Decline of the clergy of Torm, that absorved most of the faithful of Tyr and Helm and was the main responsible for the inquisition.
4668 AR / 1430 DR - The Year of Stalking Horrors: ending of the Third Crusade.
4692 AR / 1444 DR - The Year of the Seductive Cambion: Khorramzadeh attempts to destroy a wardstone in Kenabres, and it is stopped by the ancient silver dragon Terendelev, from the Galena Mountains. Beginning og the Fourth Crusade.
4707 AR / 1454 DR – The Year of the Emerald Sun: Ending of the Fourth Crusade.
4711 AR / 1458 DR – The Year of the Plotting Priests: destruction of the Tower of Yath and establishment of the Silver Crusade.
4712 AR / 1459 DR - The Year of the Forged Sigil: Corruption of the paladin Staunton Vhane (in my campaign, such character shall be renamed as Azrael Steelforge). Death of the Queen Brianne Dragonsbane, supposedly murdered by demon cultist and assassins from the Warlock Knights of Vaasa.
4713 AR / 1463 DR - The Year of the Reborn Hero: beginning of the campaign.
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Some updates of my Idea! :-)
- Role of Damara within WR: receiving a suggestion from a member of Candlekeep (thanks, Markus!) I shall transform Mendev into one of the Duchies of Damara – such region already have a history involving skirmishes with Zhengyi, the Witch King during the wars between Damara and Vaasa. The warlike nature of the mendevians shall be a good replacement and allow me to use a portion of the material already created for this kingdom.
The crusades began initially with an effort by the king of Damara, in order to stop the hordes of demons to invade the kingdom, focusing their efforts in the Duchy of Mendev. Impiltur only allied with the Dragonbane dynasty at the beginning of the Second Crusade, mainly due to the influence of the clergy of Helm (which later instruct them to create the wardstones).
Damara currently faces a serious threat, since the death of queen Brianne Dragonsbane, supposedly murdered by demon cultists frommthw Worldwound and assassins from the Warlock Knights of Vaasa. Queen Galfrey of Mendev shall be probably a duchess of Mendev, or the successor of the throne in Damara.
Considering that one of the main concepts here involve the investment of mythic power into the PCs, I decided that characters shall receive some divine essence of the slain deities that sacrificed themselves on behalf of the people and kingdoms of the Bloodstone Lands and surrounding regions. So the characters shall receive some portion of the mythic power of Helm and Tyr in the course of the campaign.
Based upon these initial key concepts, I would like to insert some NPCs and other characters of the AP into my Realms and share this with you. I based the information below on books like the The Worldwound Incursion (WR AP #1) and the The Worldwound. Some references are in brackets [__] because I do not have a final decision regarding them.
Areelu Vorlesh (half-succubus): Some tales attribute to this witch the creation of the Worldwound, helping Deskari [Eltab] to enter Faerûn. Even with her demonic descent, she was raised and trained by the wychlaran, the Witches of Rashemen, that believed that she could overcome her demonic descent and represent a force of good in the world. However, her master revealed herself as a Durthan (a secretive sect of the witches that call darker spirits and sinister forces), that had a great interest in lore of Narfell and Raumanthar, especially those related to demon summoning and demon binding – and saw that Areelu could represent a key to empower her quest for power.
The discovery that changed Areelu’s life forever was the discovery that she was daughter none other than Zhengyi, the Witch King! She traveled to Castle Perilous and reunited a lot of knowledge from his father, much to the fury of the servants of Tiamat that had taken this bastion of evil for themselves. With this obscure knowledge, and the help of some other evil spellcasters (some say that even Szass Tam had demonstrated interest in her development), Areelu was responsible for the ritual that opened the Worldwound in the heart of Narfell. She became of the rulers of the demon infested wasteland, and currently holds a great position among the demonic hordes.
Khorramzadeh (balor demon) [Errtu]: this balor arrived recently in Faerûn, and became the ruler of one domain within the Worldwound. He is called The Storm Scourge [in the AP his official nickname if “The Storm King”, but I preferred a title that didn’t describe a noble title, due to the chaotic nature of demons]. He is the demon responsible for the assault of Kenabres, in the Damaran duchy of Mendev. He was defeated by the Silver Dragon Terendelev, one of the most valorous and militant dragons of the Galena Mountains, and seeks vengeance from his draconic nemesis ever since.
I am seriously thinking in substitute Khorramzadeh, placing Errtu in its place, because I believe that this balor has more historical ties with Faerûn. However, I would like to place him outside the scope of Drizzt, since this balor shall represent a major antagonist to the characters (PCs) in the campaign. What do you think? :-)
I shall describe next the city of Kenabres, and how it shall be located within the northern border of Damara – this city is the site of the first adventure of the AP.
Thanks!
A few random thoughts, in no particular order ...
What role, if any, does the rest of the Triad play in Impiltur and surrounding areas? You've mentioned Tyr and Torm, but not the third member, Ilmater. There is also the Triadic Knight prestige class. (Champions of Valor, etc.)
Demons use noble titles in canon, e.g., Demogorgon is "Prince of Demons". The Fiendish Codex I (Hordes of the Abyss) has a slew of noble titles in Appendix I (Lords of the Abyss). Some nobles in history were simply warlords who could strong-arm the people around them into calling them lord/prince/king/whatever, based on the "might makes right" principle of power - which sounds to me like the typical demonic modus operandi.
You've mentioned Eltab (Lord of the Hidden Layer). He is a good match for the regions involved. What about the Adamantine Binding in the Citadel of Conjurers, which keeps him in Faerun/on Toril (thanks to the orginal Narfelli demon-binders)? And Eltab's demoncysts - bits of the Hidden Layer bound to Faerun itself - could also play a role. (Champions of Ruin.)
The sword Hadryllis is connected to Eltab. (Champions of Valor.)
Soneillon (the Queen of Whispers), and her campaign against Impiltur. And her "consort". (Champions of Ruin.)
Eltab's lieutenant, the balor lord Ndulu (a 32 HD balor, could be a nascent demon lord in PF?) could also play a role - particularly if you decide that he wasn't "perma-killed" by those pesky paladin-princes of Impiltur, but instead just banished from Faerun for a set period of time.
And I really like your re-imagined background for Areelu Vorlesh, particularly the Durthan connection.
I may be off base here, but I'm almost thinking Elminster would be a better stand in for Aroden than any of the actual gods. He's practically a god himself (and could have been a vessel of Mystra's lost power after she dies?) and covers the wise/aloof old man and embodiment of humanity better that Aroden seems to have for him. Elminster's hands are EVERYWHERE, and he's so iconic to the setting. I think, unless your guys are really familiar with the realms, having Elminster kick the bucket would set the tone for how dire things are and set up the PCs to be the epic heroes the adventure path seems to encourage.
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I am enjoying reading this translation so to speak. Never actually played at a table in the realms, we were in dragonlance/redsun/planescape/spelljammer.
I just had huge thought, Ive spent alot of time in Eberron over the years. Wouldnt the Mournland of what once was cyre be a Perfect setting for another translation project like yours?
You could also set it more in Impiltur and swap the Moaning Gorge for the Worldwound.
I would definitely make Ndulu the Storm King in such a case. Errtu is overrated and overused by a certain hack writer. Ndulu is actually interesting. :)