Sacredless' Notes for running Korvosa in the Southlands / Garund


Curse of the Crimson Throne

Sovereign Court

In the document below, I will be adding thoughts about how I'm setting up Korvosa to be run in a mash-up between the Kobold Press and Paizo material.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1bTiKFg6i72coboS-7MuaK0oewJaocwIYuN5YywH xw_I/edit?usp=sharing

I'll talk a bit more about my intentions here. Kobold Press' Southlands/Midgard setting is wonderful, but I also really like the Curse of the Crimson Throne. Kobold Press offers the more fable-like cadence in storytelling that I like.

The Masked Gods
Kobold Press' setting efficiently pushes the schemes of gods to the background by making them the subject of paranoia and conspiracy. The gods are not who they say they are and this is well known; the gods only appear to mortals under pseudonyms and behind masks. This is an accepted part of life and trusting that the gods you worship haven't lied too much is a matter of faith.

This will allow me to tell my players not to worry too much about their gods. They can just tell me what gods they like or don't like and it'll generally work out fine.

Status in This World
Rather than alignment, players and NPCs have 'status', following Kobold Press' rules for gaining and losing status. All spells which would normally show alignment show status instead.

This means that paladins have an innate sense of status in other people and when they are being tricked into believing someone isn't who they say they are.

The Noblest Beasts
This status does not just extend to humanoids, though; all things have status, even animals. Animals bestowed with status can eventually become 'awakened' and are called 'noble animals'.

It is not that strange for animals to be able to talk and the city of Korvosa has many talking creatures that otherwise might not have been able to. They are rare and the general assumption is that months will go by without meeting a noble animal.

Players can play certain noble animals following rules from The Noble Wild. Not all of the rules are applied; only those which would enhance the experience. This includes the Greater Familiar rules, which can be applied to both animals and humanoids, provided that they are paired with the opposite.

Múspell
Korvosa is now in the continent of Múspell, itself south of Midgard. Múspell is the name for the Southlands and Garund meshed into one continent. Korvosa remains a colony of Cheliax, but with Cheliax acting more as the Brittish Empire founding colonies in foreign places like Australia, Africa and the Americas.

The geographic location is similar to that of Cape Town and there's been two attempts to colonize the land from midgardians; first a group of minotaurs and humans magically displaced, then Cheliax by ship. The geographic location is called 'Sudvall' instead of Varisia. Sudvall is an odd mix of feudalism, shamanism and itinerant culture, steeped in the Harrow traditions. The people of Sudvall have come to an understanding with Korvosa, but they prefer to organize grand melees amongst themselves in preparation for greater threats to the north.

An invasion of Korvosa by Sudvall occurs every generation, generally used as a means of testing a newly appointed king or queen among the Sudvall people. Korvosa has always come to an agreement in some way after the initial siege. It's more an event than it is a tragedy, close to the melees conducted by the Sudvall people. Korvosans are not always as understanding, but most are happy to resume trade after the siege is lifted.

The shoanti are one of the original peoples of Sudvall rather than Varisia.

Why 'Running Korvosa' instead of 'Running CotC'?
Now, you may be asking; why is this called 'Running Korvosa', as opposed to Curse of the Crimson Throne? Because I want Korvosa to be more of a launching platform for adventures taking place in the rest of the continent. Something familiar and almost radically feudal to set itself apart from the rest of the continent. A backwater that is falling behind other developments in the greater world.

The Curse of the Crimson Throne is a gateway for me to launch my players into the greater continent, varying up feudalism with African and South American influences and folklore and fables.

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