Preface The intentions and driving force behind this story are purely adventure based.
This is not a story that is pursing smut in any way shape or form.
The goal is simple, travel to the dragons lair, slay the beast, and claim its riches.
I'll be acting as the GM and will be responsible for pushing the narrative forward.
What I'm looking for is a modest group of 3 to 5 reliable players.
This will be a freeform event loosely based around Dungeons and Dragons.
What's that mean? Elves, Half Elves, Dwarves, Halflings, Gnomes, and Half Orcs are conceptually allowed.
That said, I would prefer that Humans make up the bulk of the group.
More exotic races beyond that simple list I'm less than likely to allow although I'll consider pitches.
Consider this a place holder for now.
Sometime soon, within the next day or so I intend to elaborate on the setting.
Interested parties are welcome to send me messages.
Please refrain from posting directly on this thread until I've presented the scenario in more detail.
-This is a primer for the setting and a work in progress-
A map of the continent that will be updated occasionally.
Roughly 3 days travel on foot to cover a square, adjusted by terrain.
Key
1 - The Broken Mountain Tribe
2 - Longstone Clan (Dwarves)
3 - Ruins of Running Water
4 - Elven Lands
5 - The Great Desert
6 - No Mans Land (The Portal)
7 - The Northern Lands
8 - The Southern Lands
9 - Ruins of Crescent
10 - The Lake of Steam
11 - Black Thorn Swamp
12 - Stag Woods South
13 - Iron Horn Mountains
14 - East Bloom Forest
15 - West Bloom Forest
16 - Wolf Bark Woods
17 - Stag Woods North
18 - Broken Tribe Lands
19 - Forest of Stone
20 -
21 -
22 -
23 -
~The Setting~
This adventure will take place in a low magic setting where wizards and sorcerers are almost unheard of, existing only in legend and tale to most.
Characters will come from rather primitive societies that might be considered barbaric in nature by more advanced realms.
Steel and iron are luxuries that only the most fortunate possess or have the means to acquire.
Copper and Bronze age weapons are slightly more accessible, but in general the most common of weapons are crafted from stone, bone, or shells.
~The Lands and Their History~
The land itself is as vast as the continent of Australia in its scope and size, although for the purposes of this tale that fact won't have much direct bearing.
The lands are split into four known regions:
The Southern Lands (The South)
The Northern Lands (The North)
The Great Desert (The East)
and No Mans Land, also known as the Portal.
~The Southern Lands~ (This is the region where most characters will hail from and be most familiar with.)
The Humans
Humans dominate the Southern Lands, existing frequently in small tribes with only a small handful of larger tribes whose populace would be beyond 1,000.
It should be noted that these tribes of barbarians are the only settlements willing to accept half blooded races.
Rare, but not unheard of in the larger tribes are half-elves and to a lesser extent half-orcs.
The various southern tribes of this world are commonly ruled over by elders, great warriors, or shamans of the spirit realm.
Totems have taken the place of churches and chapels leaving most natives to scoff at the notion of higher powers such as gods.
Dwellings are crafted from what the land provides, leaving most buildings to be comprised of logs, stone, hay, and mud.
In this primitive realm the barter and trade of practical items and goods rule over commerce.
There are no established trade routes or roads connecting the tribes although intermittent trails do exist leaving trade between the tribes a rarity.
The Dwarves
Only one clan of dwarves exists upon the land, lorded over by Belgond Longstone.
Their home is set within a string of mountains that separate the Southern Lands eastern most borders with that of the Great Desert.
The dwarves prefer to keep to themselves and appreciate those who don't infringe upon them or visit their doors.
That doesn't mean they're distrustful, spiteful, or unusually cold hearted towards the typical outsider.
It's just that the barbarians and the rest of the lands at large don't deal in precious metals and stones like the dwarves do.
It's a cold hard fact that if you want to impress upon the dwarves you better be patient, have gold or gems to spare, or have done them a big favor.
Lastly, this settlement of dwarves is the only race that is known to have access to steel.
Just how much, nobody really knows, but people outside of their fortified walls are eager to get their hands on it.
The Elves
Leithianpen Leafsong is King amongst the elves whose lands lay on the south western edge of the island.
The vast majority of elves are similar to their human counterparts, living wild and free in peace and harmony with the great forest that is their home.
Much like the dwarves they keep to themselves and are only slightly more welcoming towards visitors.
Their settlements are more scattered and tucked away in hard to reach places.
They are gifted scouts and rangers, excelling at sword play and bowman-ship.
While wizards, alchemists, and sorcerers are rarely if ever to be found, they are not unheard of amongst the elves.
~The Northern Lands~ (Characters will most likely not be from this region)
To the north, beyond the region known as No Mans Land, one can find the closest thing to a city that this mass of land has to offer.
Unfortunately their cutthroat way of life makes it a place that isn't very welcoming to strangers.
Slavery is the number one enterprise followed closely by a hearty drug trade dominated by opium.
Though primarily populated by humans, mixed and even more exotic races aren't uncommon, especially in the slave market.
The rolling hills and fields of the north are the perfect place for their slaves to tend their primary crop of poppy.
They are an aggressive lot, ruled over by a variety of cunning, heartless, warlords who are willing to do anything to see themselves stay in power.
Frequently they send raiding parties into the south, clashing with the more peaceful folk of those lands, or gathering slaves fresh from the Portal.
~The Great Desert~ (Characters will most likely not be from this region)
It's a difficult trek to make it to the Great Desert.
The horse shaped ring of mountains where the dwarves reside creates a natural barrier separating the desert from the more fertile lands of south.
Rumors of a once powerful and rich kingdom that resided over a great well exist in tales passed over generations by the human tribes.
They speak of a great city called Crescent buried under the sands, a place to avoided, a place where the restless dead roam.
Dwarves are a little bit more aware of the facts behind those stories, though none of their elders were alive during that time.
There are some elves that have not moved on from the mortal coil yet that possess first hand knowledge of those tales.
Beyond the city of Crescent the lands of the Great Desert are a vast mystery awaiting discovery.
~No Mans Lands/The Portal~ (Characters will most likely not be from this region)
Somewhere towards the center of the island is a place of terrible magic.
The only ones known to have ever seen it are those who were unfortunate enough to witness it first hand.
The Outsiders, or so they are called are a mix of people of mostly human lineage who have been banished to these lands by means of a magic portal wielded by a cruel and ever expanding empire from some distant land far beyond the turbulent seas surrounding the continent.
For far to many centuries now this strange portal has been existed, sending scores of people with little then the simple clothes they wear to an uncertain fate.
Many have died at the very foot of the Portal, leaving mounds of bones in their wake.
Some have survived though, made their way into the wilds where they perished or preserved.
The fortunate ones made it to the Southern Lands, the vast majority though often end up in the hands of the Northern Tribes as fresh slaves for the market.
Over the years they've blended in with the tribes of the south by earning their place amongst the people.
Some have settled into their own small communities of survivors and hope for a brighter future.
~Prologue~
Running Waters was about as progressive a settlement that could of existed in the Southern Lands. They had a penchant for being far more welcoming to the Outsiders that came from the Portal. The merging of the old and time honored practices of the tribal natives and the new techniques brought along by those from beyond the island realm did not manifest over night. It took decades upon decades for progress to manifest, but one thing is for certain, when the construction of a great dam was finally finished some ten years ago, Running Waters was on the verge of great things. The dam was the key, allowing the people who called the river valley home to stem the tide of the seasonal floods that roared out of the mountains to plague what were otherwise lush and fertile fields. Crops were now able to blossom to their full potential, the brilliant mind of the architect behind the great dams construction was leading an effort to construct the very first mill of the Southern Lands. A deposit of gold was even uncovered once the waters that gathered in basins along the edges of the Iron Fang Mountains had been tamed by the ingenuity of men. There was even whispers of an agreement being arranged with the Longstone Clan of dwarves to the south east. Gold for steel was on the horizon, the people of Running Water couldn't be blamed for looking towards the future with great optimism.
Then the dragon came.
That fateful night, while the majority of Running Waters slept the sinister creature arrived, drawn by the promise of wealth and a place for it to claim as its lair. Those who survived and lived to tell the tale spoke of a dragon as black as the sky at night, as dark as the deepest shadows, and as large from head to tip of tail as the great hall of Running Waters itself. It started with the bursting of the dam and ended as swiftly as it had began once the flood waters had over run the slumbering settlement. Those who managed to avoid death by drowning were easy picking for the serpentine dragon that was as at home in the waters as it was in the clouds above. They say it spit streams of acid, strong enough to melt the flesh off a mans bones. Its obsidian scales were like rows of shields, rendering the mundane and primitive weapons of the people of Running Water helpless against the beast. By dawn hundreds were dead and the few that escaped spoke of goblins and worgs that picked off even more denizens of that besieged village as they tried to flee for safety from the dragons rage.
That was over a year ago now, daring scouts speak of seeing the city left behind in the valley, buried under stagnant dark waters now. The remnants of the once great dam having been shifted, or moved to the south, leaving the waters from the mountains to swell. The tribe of goblins and the worgs they ride upon still remain, and although the strength of their numbers is uncertain the general consensus amongst the wisest of the elders in the Southern Lands is that if something is not done, the situation will only get worse. A band of heroes needs to be assembled. Only the bravest, strongest, and brightest warriors that the tribes can call upon will be summoned to coming Moot and bestowed with the task of slaying the dragon.
Continuing to flesh things out in the above portion where I plan to post a prologue of sorts to help introduce the seed that we'll be launching from.
Currently this effort has one participant signed up and I'd like to take a moment to welcome them here. @Shiva the Cat has signed on to take up the role of human ranger representing one of the southern tribes.
Bumping for interest. One slot filled. A rough map of the continent is now available as well as the premise to launch the story from.
I would like to take a moment and describe my overall goal for this project. Essentially I would like to lead a small group through a series of adventures in the vein of a traditional campaign. But for simplicity's sake I'm going to simply approach this from the perspective of a stand alone mission to hunt down and slay a dragon. If, and only if the group that signs on to take part is interested in pursuing this effort further then we can discuss and cross that bridge in due time.
That makes two which I believe is enough to post a character thread. I know @Shiva the Cat has her profile ready so when she's able to post I'm sure she wouldn't mind if you borrowed it.
@BennyQ and @TheCorsair consider yourselves signed up. If either of you have questions or concepts you want to bounce off of me feel free to bounce away.
On a side note I'll be updating the map here and there since I've got some free time on my hands and probably expanding the setting with other areas of interest. While I prefer characters come from the Southern Lands and that we have a reasonable way to tie them all together with some past familiarity I'm open to other ideas so long as they fit into the core idea.
Hello! I am still reading through the thread, but I would be interested to take part in this if time allows it, would there be an open spot for one last adventurer?
Edit: Read through it all and this seems very interesting as something to pair up to my weekly campaigns to fill in the gap!
We have four and while I'm good with that number I'm going to leave a spot open for a fifth, preferably female, so we can at least have the option of a catfight.
We have four and while I'm good with that number I'm going to leave a spot open for a fifth, preferably female, so we can at least have the option of a catfight.
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