Apr 11, 2016 3:12 am
Feel free to talk about your character ideas, roll for stats, or anything else related to your character here.
The adventure will start at the Swinging Sword in the town of Red Larch, where the characters will meet Kaylessa Irkell, the proprietor of the inn. She has hired you all to investigate suspicious happenings at Lance Rock, a landmark a bit of a trek to the southwest of Red Larch.
The campaign comes with some options for character backgrounds that you're free to incorporate into your character's background or use for inspiration. You certainly don't have to though.
Character Background Options
Best Served Cold: A silver-tongued bard named Harald Grayspear murdered your sister. You seek revenge against this murderous minstrel who now goes by the name of Windharrow. He was last seen in the area of the Dessarin Valley.
Dangerous Information: During your travels you overheard that a group of murderous bandits led by someone named Grimjaw are planning a terrible raid somewhere in the Dessarin Valley.
Dangerous Secret: Mysterious druids of the Circle of the Scarlet Moon supposedly know of a ritual magic unknown to other druids. You have been sent to infiltrate these druids, now residing somewhere in the Dessarin Valley, and learn of their secret.
Dark Omens: The signs and portents are clear. Nature is out of balance. You have apocalyptic dreams of fire, floods, tornados, and earthquakes swallowing up the towns of the Dessarin Valley. You travel to the Dessarin Valley to seek out and remove the reason for this imbalance.
Defeat the Skyraiders: Viscious raiders mounted on hippogriffs have laid waste to several small hamlets and merchant caravans. In the process they murdered your closest friend. You have arrived having heard word of their activity in the Dessarin Valley.
Feathergale Rebel: Nobles of Waterdeep hired you to retrieve a Waterdhavian noblewoman named Savra Belabranta. She was last seen somewhere in the Dessarin Valley.
The Fugitive: You are on the trail of the wizard Bastian Thermandar who murdered his fellow mages and stole their arcane knowledge. His last recent sightings are in the lands of the Dessarin Valley.
Hired Hand: The homesteaders who raised you as their own and were often kind to itinerant workers are now missing. You now seek to rescue the members of your adopted family who still live and seek revenge for those now dead.
Madman at Haunted Keep: Brigands you used to travel with took a dark murderous turn. You know now that they occupy Rivergard Keep and you just happen to know a secret entrance to the keep.
The Mud Sorcerer: Months ago you were robbed by an earth genasi who killed several innocent bystanders by tearing open a rift in the ground and swallowing them deep into the earth. You must find Miraj Vizann and make him pay.
Ominous Dream: Your dreams are filled with nightmares of the earth swallowing thousands while a male medusa stands atop a rock etched with a strange symbol. You know that this dangerous villain must be stopped before this disaster comes to pass.
Recover Your Sword: Thugs broke into the workshop where you apprenticed and murdered the master smith who taught you. They stole a beautiful sword she made. You overheard that one of the thugs was named Grimjaw and saw a strange symbol carved into the wood of the shop.
Rescue Your People: Raiders have abducted members of your family and must be rescued at any cost. They left behind only a strange symbol burned into the wood of your home. You’ve heard that similar signs have been seen around the Dessarin Valley.
Seeking Revenge: Your home village had been put to the torch, killing dozens of your friends and neighbors. Your investigations have led you to the name of Calderos who resides somewhere in the Dessarin Valley.
Settle a Score: Your family has been robbed and you were left for dead by marauders wearing armor that looked like stone. They were led by someone the other marauders called "Hedorm". You have heard of similar raids in the Dessarin Valley.
Shatterkeel’s Trail: Your ship has been sunk by an unnatural storm sending many of your brothers on the sea to their watery deaths. Your investigations have uncovered that the name of the stormbringer is Shatterkeel Gar and that he resides somewhere in the Dessarin Valley.
Strange Map: An ancient map showing a forgotten dwarf stronghold beneath the Sumber Hills has come into your possession. Though incomplete and faded, it has the name Tyar-Besil written on it in dwarven.
Suspicious Fellow: You have been sent to investigate a knight of the Feathergale Society named Thurl Merosska who now resides somewhere in the Dessarin Valley.
Undercover: You have been tasked to break up a smuggling and piracy ring taking place somewhere on the Dessarin River. This ring is apparently led by someone named Quanderil.
Walked Away: While working as a freelance mercenary you fell in with a group who began an unhealthy association with fire as their weapon of choice. After burning their victims alive, you left the group. You now worry that these mercenaries are responsible for troubles in the Dessarin Valley and must be stopped.
The adventure also includes some factions that you are free to work into your character's background or backstory, if you would like to. Again, you certainly don't have to.
Factions:
The Harpers: A scattered network of spellcasters and spies, the Harpers advocate equality and covertly oppose the abuse of power, magical or otherwise. Agents operate in secret and emphasize stealth and subtlety, or at the very least discretion. Bards and wizards are their most prominent members.
The Order of the Gauntlet: This faction is primarily a military organization made up of paladins, clerics, and monks. Members of the order are faithful and vigilant seekers of justice who protect others from the depredations of evildoers. They exact swift retribution against those who violate the law.
The Emerald Enclave: This widespread group of wilderness survivalists preserves the natural order while rooting out unnatural threats. Many of the Enclave's members are barbarians, druids, and rangers. Some wander the untamed lands while others make their homes on the outskirts of towns and villages, where they help to protect travelers from the dangers of the wild.
The Lords' Alliance: The Lords' Alliance is a shaky compact of aggressive political powers concerns with mutual security and prosperity. Fighters and sorcerers are prevalent among alliance agents, and they are often glory hounds seeking personal recognition. Most agents are lawful or neutral; in the courtly circles of the lords, those who don't follow the rules seldom last long.
The Zhentarim: This shadow network seeks to expend its influence and power base throughout Faerun. Its members coerce, persuade, or buy their way into every major area of influence. Rogues and warlocks fill the Zhentarim's ranks, but the faction recruits any who can conduct its business without too many moral reservations.
Elves of the High Forest: The High Forest once sheltered three great elven realms beneath its boughs. Many tribes of wood elves--and a few moon elves--still protect the ruined monuments to their golden age. Few beyond the borders of the High Forest know much about these elves; they have no single leader and make little contact with the outside world.
The Hand of Yartar: The famous chronicler Volo once said that everyone in Yartar is after money or power--preferably both--in as short a time as possible. The Harpers, the Lords' Alliance, and the Zhentarim compete within the city. The local thieves' guild, the Hand of Yartar, vies for a larger piece of the action, but infighting has kept the guild from having much influence.
The Knights of Samular: This order of paladins dedicated to Tyr has pursued justice across the North for other five hundred years. Its founder, Samular Caradoon, built Summit Hall in the Sumber Hills as a training monastery for the order. Young men and women across the North travel to Summit Hall so that they might leave from its aging heroes.
Uthgardt Tribes: For over a thousand years, the barbarian humans of the Uthgardt tribes have roved the North, holding to ancient customs of ritual and taboo. They are notorious for their hatred of magic, disavowal of any gods but their own, and hostility to anyone not of their tribes. Most of the North consider Uthgardt to be little better than orcs. Two tribes are the most troublesome to folk of the Dessarin Valley: the Tree Ghosts and the Elk.
The adventure will start at the Swinging Sword in the town of Red Larch, where the characters will meet Kaylessa Irkell, the proprietor of the inn. She has hired you all to investigate suspicious happenings at Lance Rock, a landmark a bit of a trek to the southwest of Red Larch.
The campaign comes with some options for character backgrounds that you're free to incorporate into your character's background or use for inspiration. You certainly don't have to though.
Character Background Options
Best Served Cold: A silver-tongued bard named Harald Grayspear murdered your sister. You seek revenge against this murderous minstrel who now goes by the name of Windharrow. He was last seen in the area of the Dessarin Valley.
Dangerous Information: During your travels you overheard that a group of murderous bandits led by someone named Grimjaw are planning a terrible raid somewhere in the Dessarin Valley.
Dangerous Secret: Mysterious druids of the Circle of the Scarlet Moon supposedly know of a ritual magic unknown to other druids. You have been sent to infiltrate these druids, now residing somewhere in the Dessarin Valley, and learn of their secret.
Dark Omens: The signs and portents are clear. Nature is out of balance. You have apocalyptic dreams of fire, floods, tornados, and earthquakes swallowing up the towns of the Dessarin Valley. You travel to the Dessarin Valley to seek out and remove the reason for this imbalance.
Defeat the Skyraiders: Viscious raiders mounted on hippogriffs have laid waste to several small hamlets and merchant caravans. In the process they murdered your closest friend. You have arrived having heard word of their activity in the Dessarin Valley.
Feathergale Rebel: Nobles of Waterdeep hired you to retrieve a Waterdhavian noblewoman named Savra Belabranta. She was last seen somewhere in the Dessarin Valley.
The Fugitive: You are on the trail of the wizard Bastian Thermandar who murdered his fellow mages and stole their arcane knowledge. His last recent sightings are in the lands of the Dessarin Valley.
Hired Hand: The homesteaders who raised you as their own and were often kind to itinerant workers are now missing. You now seek to rescue the members of your adopted family who still live and seek revenge for those now dead.
Madman at Haunted Keep: Brigands you used to travel with took a dark murderous turn. You know now that they occupy Rivergard Keep and you just happen to know a secret entrance to the keep.
The Mud Sorcerer: Months ago you were robbed by an earth genasi who killed several innocent bystanders by tearing open a rift in the ground and swallowing them deep into the earth. You must find Miraj Vizann and make him pay.
Ominous Dream: Your dreams are filled with nightmares of the earth swallowing thousands while a male medusa stands atop a rock etched with a strange symbol. You know that this dangerous villain must be stopped before this disaster comes to pass.
Recover Your Sword: Thugs broke into the workshop where you apprenticed and murdered the master smith who taught you. They stole a beautiful sword she made. You overheard that one of the thugs was named Grimjaw and saw a strange symbol carved into the wood of the shop.
Rescue Your People: Raiders have abducted members of your family and must be rescued at any cost. They left behind only a strange symbol burned into the wood of your home. You’ve heard that similar signs have been seen around the Dessarin Valley.
Seeking Revenge: Your home village had been put to the torch, killing dozens of your friends and neighbors. Your investigations have led you to the name of Calderos who resides somewhere in the Dessarin Valley.
Settle a Score: Your family has been robbed and you were left for dead by marauders wearing armor that looked like stone. They were led by someone the other marauders called "Hedorm". You have heard of similar raids in the Dessarin Valley.
Shatterkeel’s Trail: Your ship has been sunk by an unnatural storm sending many of your brothers on the sea to their watery deaths. Your investigations have uncovered that the name of the stormbringer is Shatterkeel Gar and that he resides somewhere in the Dessarin Valley.
Strange Map: An ancient map showing a forgotten dwarf stronghold beneath the Sumber Hills has come into your possession. Though incomplete and faded, it has the name Tyar-Besil written on it in dwarven.
Suspicious Fellow: You have been sent to investigate a knight of the Feathergale Society named Thurl Merosska who now resides somewhere in the Dessarin Valley.
Undercover: You have been tasked to break up a smuggling and piracy ring taking place somewhere on the Dessarin River. This ring is apparently led by someone named Quanderil.
Walked Away: While working as a freelance mercenary you fell in with a group who began an unhealthy association with fire as their weapon of choice. After burning their victims alive, you left the group. You now worry that these mercenaries are responsible for troubles in the Dessarin Valley and must be stopped.
The adventure also includes some factions that you are free to work into your character's background or backstory, if you would like to. Again, you certainly don't have to.
Factions:
The Harpers: A scattered network of spellcasters and spies, the Harpers advocate equality and covertly oppose the abuse of power, magical or otherwise. Agents operate in secret and emphasize stealth and subtlety, or at the very least discretion. Bards and wizards are their most prominent members.
The Order of the Gauntlet: This faction is primarily a military organization made up of paladins, clerics, and monks. Members of the order are faithful and vigilant seekers of justice who protect others from the depredations of evildoers. They exact swift retribution against those who violate the law.
The Emerald Enclave: This widespread group of wilderness survivalists preserves the natural order while rooting out unnatural threats. Many of the Enclave's members are barbarians, druids, and rangers. Some wander the untamed lands while others make their homes on the outskirts of towns and villages, where they help to protect travelers from the dangers of the wild.
The Lords' Alliance: The Lords' Alliance is a shaky compact of aggressive political powers concerns with mutual security and prosperity. Fighters and sorcerers are prevalent among alliance agents, and they are often glory hounds seeking personal recognition. Most agents are lawful or neutral; in the courtly circles of the lords, those who don't follow the rules seldom last long.
The Zhentarim: This shadow network seeks to expend its influence and power base throughout Faerun. Its members coerce, persuade, or buy their way into every major area of influence. Rogues and warlocks fill the Zhentarim's ranks, but the faction recruits any who can conduct its business without too many moral reservations.
Elves of the High Forest: The High Forest once sheltered three great elven realms beneath its boughs. Many tribes of wood elves--and a few moon elves--still protect the ruined monuments to their golden age. Few beyond the borders of the High Forest know much about these elves; they have no single leader and make little contact with the outside world.
The Hand of Yartar: The famous chronicler Volo once said that everyone in Yartar is after money or power--preferably both--in as short a time as possible. The Harpers, the Lords' Alliance, and the Zhentarim compete within the city. The local thieves' guild, the Hand of Yartar, vies for a larger piece of the action, but infighting has kept the guild from having much influence.
The Knights of Samular: This order of paladins dedicated to Tyr has pursued justice across the North for other five hundred years. Its founder, Samular Caradoon, built Summit Hall in the Sumber Hills as a training monastery for the order. Young men and women across the North travel to Summit Hall so that they might leave from its aging heroes.
Uthgardt Tribes: For over a thousand years, the barbarian humans of the Uthgardt tribes have roved the North, holding to ancient customs of ritual and taboo. They are notorious for their hatred of magic, disavowal of any gods but their own, and hostility to anyone not of their tribes. Most of the North consider Uthgardt to be little better than orcs. Two tribes are the most troublesome to folk of the Dessarin Valley: the Tree Ghosts and the Elk.
