Ozrazarn: Age of Ominous Omens (D&D 5E)

Hi all. Aganazzar here. I have played and gm'ed several pbp games in the past but have had a long hiatus. Now, I feel like getting back to it, despite it feeling a bit overwhelming, and have dusted off my robe, hat and books and decided to try to run a D&D 5E campaign here with the following pitch:

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Welcome to Ozrazarn, a world where reality and myth intertwines, where stalwart heroes rise to fight the forces of evil and where sagas are born from the vivid tales of their valiant deeds, tales told over warm fiery hearths in cozy old inns, in the so-called Realms of Remnant Light, far from the malice and peril of the Gloomwrought Dusk Lands, where such tales are everyday happenstance...

A Shadow has fallen over the Elden Realms of Mrezden, the grand central continent of Ozrazarn. The Adrazil, or Tree of Light, in Tivar-Zebeir, the ancient homeland of the Silver Elves, has been poisoned and turned into The Dark Tree, and Tivar Zebeir's ruler, Narnirgirthara, the Undying Queen, has become corrupted by The Twisted Three: Vaegloth the Whisperer, Woedra the Witch Queen, and Ilmothaal the Insidious. Tivar-Zebeir and the countries surrounding her have become blighted by The Gloom, a nefarious, corruptive force tied to the essence of Nythos, the Night King, and overrun with forces of evil, serving The Twisted Tribunal and are now known as The Dusk Lands...

Who will arise to fight against the onslaught of evil?
Who has the courage to stand up against The Twisted Tribunal?
Who has the power to bring back Light to the Dusk Lands?

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Six tankards of riverstone-cooled ale are placed on the sturdy wooden table in the back of The Gluttonous Griffon's common room, in the village of Rhislund in the duchy of Avalys, in the southern Great Vale, between Solrym's Ridge and the Valewood. Rhislund is only a few days travel away from the duchy's capital of Dyn Avalys, a small city on the road between Whelyr's capital Orlentyr and Ruarvin's capital Kaldra, and five rather experienced adventurers happen to find themselves there, in the company of Ochavald Sharpe, the rather secretive arcanist who hired them in Orlentyr, to escort him safely to Kaldra. So far, the journey has been rather uneventful. The party fought off a bugbear ambush in Ozamar's Gap, on the way into the Great Vale, but aside from that, there has been no real trouble. In the line of work of such a retinue as those guarding Sharpe, however, things often happen to change to something quite dangerous rather quickly, and they know they have to keep their wits about them and be wary of their surroundings at all times, even in a small cozy backwater inn such as the Griffon...

This sounds glorious. How do I petition for a spot?

I concur with Mr. Mabry.

Glad to hear so. Write me a character pitch here or send me one in a private message. It doesn't have to be lengthy or anything. It's just to give me a general feeling of your style and what sort of character you'd want to play.

I sent messages to the GM for chat about applicaton.

I was asked by Gene about starting level and races and this way my reply: I was thinking starting you out as fifth level characters. Regarding races, I'm open to uncommon races, but would prefer it if you run it by me, even in regards to the common races, as there may be some setting-specific info I'd then like you to know.

I'm thinking a plain joe human fighter.

Here's a preliminary map of Mrezden, the continent of Ozrazarn where the game takes place. I may change some things up, but thought I'd share, just to give you a general overview of the realms you might be adventuring in...

Here's a bit of info about the starting area I just sent to Gene, but which is relevant to anyone else interested in playing as well:

You begin in the duchy of Avalys in the southern portion of The Great Vale, but your actual journey began in Orlentyr, the capital of the kingdom of Whelyr, Realm of the Lyre, a realm known for its rich and vibrant culture of merry merchants and minstrels in wide-brimmed hats and colorful cloaks, where the commoners are educated through poems that vary from cautionary tales to historical epics, and most people have a rather flowery way of expressing themselves. They indulge themselves on fine wines and rich food, and life in Whelyr make it seem that the country is much farther removed from the dark and dangerous Dusk Lands than it really is. Many refugees have reached Whelyr in the decades following Tivar-Zebeir's Undying Queen's corruption, the poisoning of the Adrazil and the spread of the Gloom, but in Whelyr, life goes on as usual, and most people have little fear of such events, probably because they have yet to see the horrors themselves. One thing is hearing about the horrors from refugees or bard's tales. It is a quite different thing experiening them oneself.

Whelyr is ruled from the beautiful city of Orlentyr, which is located partly on the mainland and partly on an isle called Lentos, by the half-elven Minstrel Queen, Ynara Valathar. The duchy of Avalys is ruled by Duke Alugar Dundragon, an aging adani (human) noble who swears fealty to the Minstrel Queen, although the duchy of Avalys is mostly considered an independent state, and is governed as such.

I’d like to play a dwarf paladin. Are there any major differences to dwarves in Mrezden? When I play dwarves I usually lean into the grumpy complainer trope. It’s a little tired, but I find it fun.

What are the gods of Mrezden like? Paladins and clerics are my favorite classes.

Hi name would be Keratz Brokenhaft. "That’s Keeer-Ahhhhtz, not carrots!"

The Bright Gods, or Dagda Vana, are the most commonly worshipped deities in the Realms of Remnant Light. They reside in a realm known as The Canum and their chief is known as Azundazar, the Lord of Light. There's also the Green Gods lead by Gaundalur, the Forest Father. The most popular gods from among the Dagda Vana are Azundazar (The Lord of Light), Veyek Verkaleon (The Vigil), Myrshalar (The Mistress of Magic), Loralae Ilana (The Loving Lady), Thyris Aldrishar (The Radiant Queen), Khauros (the Lord of Storms), Beranath (The Burning Bard) and Corum (the Lord of Crafting).

Dwarves are pretty standard-fare, but they call themselves the Dhouvarr.

I love a good homebrew world, and this one looks pretty spectacular!

Freryn Oachtyr (female halfling ranger/fighter) is an exile. Her family were boyars – knights-errant – of the Coldwood of Felgar and had spent generations fighting the brigands, steppe nomads and frostfolk of the northern taiga. They had always acquitted themselves with honour and glory, but when the Gloom spread across Felgar they faced an enemy they could not defeat. So they fled, protecting their people as they retreated to the port city of Riven and took to ship, heading south to Whelyr as refugees.

Her family faced their new life in Whelyr with varying degrees of success. Her father turned to despair and drink and was murdered by the expatriate Felgari community he had given his honour to protect. Her siblings took to various careers, but Freryn was caught between bitterness towards the ungrateful refugees and a desire to preserve the traditions of her family. She used the skills of woodcraft and warcraft she had been taught to work as a caravan guard and trailblazer, watching gloomily as the people of Whelyr sing and feast, ignorant of the dark blight encroaching ever southwards.

Will there be a particular kind of enemy we'll face more often than not? Undead? Aberrations? Demons/Devils?

Apologies I sent you a message before spotting the thread. Interested if you're still accepting- will flesh out a character if you need more players.

Character ideas I've always wanted to play:
Lenny Coggins-a halfling barbarian who was raised by goblins...struggling with his past
'Half-Inch' Finch-a shadar-kai rogue (if the race is allowed) pickpocket.. has a good heart despite well everything.
Rook Alderghast- a hard boiled ex town guard (Fighter- battlemaster).. it was the paperwork that finally pushed him over the edge.

I'm quite enchanted with the premise of the setting. Very nice and well-written. If there's a spot for me, I'd love to join.

The first concept I came up with is a Silver Elf. Seeing as no one mentioned an arcane caster yet, I thought of a bladesinging wizard. She was far from her homeland when the Gloom fell upon it and has tempered herself to not act rashly in the face of something so overwhelmingly powerful. She mourns the fall of the Adrazil and Narnirgirthara, but knows the Undying Queen must be stopped some day.

Personality-wise, she would be intelligent and calculating, but also quite enchanting as she is a performer. She has the elven outlook on life where one does not act rashly. The history and traditions of her people are sacred to her and she would save as much as she could from the Gloom, rather than rashly destroy it all just to deny it to the Gloom. After all, without the Adrazil and Tivar-Zebeir, do her people truly exist?

I had initially been considering a Paladin/Warlock intent on being a hero, but as JM mentioned Paladin I'd be happy to amend my idea to a Bard/Warlock with the same goal. Someone who just wants to make a difference for the people.

I’m not set in stone on anything. Really I just want to play a grumpy dwarf. Class isn’t as much of an issue.