Campaign info

[RobbyPants]

Setting

Map




Brief Description of Each Region

Bjorin: Theocratic nation is lead by the high priestess of Heironeous, Katrien. Known for fishing, mining, silver, and mithril.

Feldin: Kingdom ruled by King Torin, the half elf with strong ties to the elves of Lethærin. Known for lumber, farming, fine wine, and beer.

Ezdrakk: Small hobgoblin nation with a strong caste system. Known for fine horses, quality steel, and loyal mercenaries.

Black Fang Tribe: A tribe of orcs with no permanent home. Known for being bloodthirsty and difficult to deal with.

Lethærin: Kingdom of elves that is semi-isolated. Known for fine craftsmanship, art, and exotic foods.

Mount Kul: A mountain with the Obsidian Tower, the home of a dark sorcerer known only as the Lord of The Pit.



Important Events

Prophesy: For centuries, there has been a prophesy that "a vault" will open and it will usher a new era of magic and prosperity. Any details beyond that are pure speculation. Due to current events, some scholars believe this will be happening in the region soon. This has attracted many treasure-seekers to the area.

The War of the Beld: For the past year, Bjorin and Feldin have been at war. The initial cause was a contested execution of a paladin for treason, followed by a border dispute. This border dispute was further fueled by rumors of the prophesy, as some scholars think that "the vault" may be in contested territory.

Peace Officers: Because of the war, the soldiers on both sides have been spread too thin to keep ample protection over the smaller towns and roads. This has prompted various settlements to hire mercenaries as "Peace Officers". The work afforded can be very lucrative, but the Peace Officers often cause more problems than they solve.

[RobbyPants]

Detailed Setting and Events

Countries and Territories

Bjorin: Bjorin is located on the southern edge of the Keldar Mountains. The theocratic nation is lead by the high priestess of Heironeous, Katrien. The capital city has the largest temple to Heironeous in the world. Most other areas of the country are ruled by high-ranking priests as well. The worship of other good or neutral aligned religions are tolerated, in the boarders, but the worship of evil gods is viewed with distain, and no evil temples are allowed to openly operate. The worship of Hextor is prohibited and punishable by death if the adherent fails to recant.
   Bjorin is mostly known for fishing and mining. They are particularly known for their work with silver and mithril.

Feldin: Feldin is located on the eastern edge of the Taern Forest, mostly in the Great Plain of Korreth. Feldin is ruled by King Torin, a half elf with strong ties to the elves of Lethærin. Most of the region is controlled by ruling noble under the king. The predominant religion in the region is Pelor, but there is no official state religion.
   Feldin is known for lumber, farming, fine wine, and beer.

Ezdrakk: A small nation primarily consisting of hobgoblins. A lot of their culture is caste-based, and most non-hobgoblins tend to occupy the bottom several castes, with a few notable exceptions. It is possible to move up and down the ladder through merit, although, this is next to impossible for anyone unlucky enough to belong to the slave caste.
   Ezdrakk is known primarily for its fine horses, the quality of their steel, and an abundance of loyal mercenaries.

Black Fang Tribe: A tribe of orcs with no permanent home. They have been gradually expanding, but also move when resources get scarce or if they face a serious threat. They tend to expand by assimilating other weaker orc tribes. They also count several gnolls and bugbears in their ranks.
   The Black Flame is known primarily as a tribe of blood-thirsty brutes. They survive both by being big enough to give others pause, yet small enough to pick up stakes and move should they face serious opposition.

Lethærin: Lethærin is a kingdom of elves in the Taern Forest. They do a fair amount of trade with the neighboring regions, but they travel less than neighboring countries. Due to their longer life spans, the elves have longer memories than the humans, and they can remember times of great strife. They tend to be somewhat more isolationist than the humans, and typically remain neutral in any disputes between other nations. Lethærin is ruled by Queen Ylsadra.
   Lethærin is a bit more withdrawn than the neighboring countries, but it is known for fine craftsmanship, art, and exotic foods.

Mount Kul: Mount Kul is a mountain in the Keldar Mountains, north of Bjorin. It would be otherwise unremarkable except for the Obsidian Tower, and the dark sorcerer who lives there, known only as the Lord of The Pit. Anyone who addresses simply calls him “your Excellency”. He largely keeps to himself in his tower, but he occasionally shows up in other lands with no notice, typically to conduct business, and then he leaves as mysteriously as he arrives. He is almost always accompanied by two large undead creatures and a fire elemental. No one knows what goes on in his tower, and it has only been seen at a distance. It is black, with a tall flame continually burning from the top. The fire lights the night sky far enough to be seen from much of northern Bjorin, and even parts of Northwest Feldin.



History

Prophesy
Scholars of both Heironeous and Boccob have long since studied deeper meanings in the sacred texts. A few otherwise esoteric verses hint at an alliance between the two gods, helping to usher in a golden age. Three sections, in particular, when taken out of their context seem to be speaking of the same event.
   The first mentioning is the most obvious and overt. Clearly, Boccob provides gifts that can be used for good or evil, and Heironeous sees that they are used for good:

And in those days, there was a great age of magic;
An abundance of the gifts of Boccob, for everyone to use.
In this great age, the gifts were used for Good, and not Evil.

The second verse was told from a first-person view of a paladin named Haldar, who defeated a dragon and its cult of followers. At a fork in a cave, he found a stone door bearing what is likely the symbol of Boccob. What is inside is a mystery, but many believe it may be a reference to the aforementioned gifts.

And there, in the fork, I saw the stone gates with the purple eye.
The gates opened, and out poured a radiant golden light.

Lastly, a final verse occurs in a section talking about martyrs and rewards. Adherents of Heironeous believe that any sacrifice they make to themselves in this life to protect someone will be met with reward in the next life. This hasn’t stopped people searching for greater meaning to connect this verse with the stone doors from the previously mentioned verse.

When the blood of the just is spilled
The vault shall open.

Most scholars see an obvious connection between the first two verses, but what it means is vague to the point of being useless. The third verse adds a bit of a trigger for a prophesy, but many scholars feel that it is too far out of context to make that connection. Still, this hasn’t stopped a few scholars from speculating endlessly what “the fork” means.
   Scholars of Boccob speak of a material known only as vylsira; a glowing yellow crystal made of pure, distilled magic. Boccob used it when infusing the planes with magic, making arcane magic possible. It does not appear naturally on the Prime Material Plane, but Boccob’s realm is said to have entire buildings made of the material. Given the description of vylsira and the golden glow coming from the stone doors, scholars who have studied both religions believe the vault might contain vylsira.



Current Events

The War of the Beld
For the past year, Bjorin and Feldin have been at war. Tensions started two years ago when a paladin of Heironeous named Wilthar the Just was arrested for treason in Feldin. Wilthar maintained he only had to submit to the authority of Heironeous. When an independent investigation lead him to accuse several members of the guard of being corrupt, a fight broke out. Wilthar was not a citizen of Bjorin, but the priests there wanted him released to them and wanted the guards investigated to possibly exonerate him. Feldin refused, expedited the trial, and had him executed. To add insult to injury, they had his body destroyed so he wouldn’t be resurrected.
   For a year after that, tensions rose as petty trade disputes turned into unfair tariffs, sanctions, and embargos. Each side seemed to want to provoke the other by stationing more troops near their borders. One of these borders runs down a the Beld River that forks in two before draining into the Orzlo Sea. In the past, the area in the center of the fork belonged to Bjorin, but it was handed over to Feldin several generations ago as part of a trade deal, largely between the nobles and priests near the border. Many of the people in the fork still identify more with Bjorin than Feldin, even though life hadn’t changed too much for them.
   Now, with rising tensions, rumors of oppression in the traded territory are spreading, and that the citizens want to return to Bjorin control. This is almost entirely exaggerations and propaganda, but the rumors gain traction. It prompts a handful of scholars to pay a bit more attention to the area. Enough to make a connection that the fork in the Beld is what is referenced in the texts, that the death of Wilthar the Just is the event foretold.
   Rumors of vault opening in contested lands spread among the high priests of Heironeous. They do not want its precious gifts to fall into the hands of the unrighteous. They persuade Priestess Katrien that the citizens of the fork in the Beld are being oppressed, and she sends envoys to talk to the people. With the increased troops on the borders, Feldin does not allow the envoy to enter, and Katrien becomes convinced of the oppression. She orders the occupation of the fork by Bjorin forces, which starts the war of the Beld.


Search for the Vault
With all the speculation of esoteric verses and the current events, no one knows what to expect. Many wonder what form this vault will take. Is it even a vault, or is the description figurative?
   Several scholars have braved the dangers of the contested land to search for any clues that might help them, but they aren’t the only ones looking. Rumors beget rumors, and many others are searching for riches and power, both in the contested region near the Beld, and also over the entire region. With the war occupying the military on both sides, they don’t have the manpower to keep an eye on any given band of armed explorers.


Peace Officers for hire
With the military occupied with the war, very few soldiers are left to defend the cities internally. The large cities are still fairly well staffed, but the smaller settlements, and especially the roads between are nearly unguarded. This has prompted the hiring of private protectors, often dubbed “Peace Officers”. Sometimes, the soldiers gather some tax money to hire a few extra men. Other times, the locals pool together their resources to hire any mercenaries they can.
   Given the rise in armed travelers due to the search for the vault, there has been no shortage of potential Peace Officers. Of course, danger tends to follow their type around, and many speculate if they’re causing more harm than good. And that is to say nothing for the occasional sociopath who shows up, takes the payment, and anything else they want before moving on - or worse - staying.

[RobbyPants]

Politics

Bjorin: As of late, Bjorin have moved to a much more authoritarian form of ruling. It has always been strict in many ways, but all of the added suspicions of the war have everyone on edge. Things are particularly bad near the borders and somewhat less so in the large cities.
   During any periods of emergency or extreme suspicion, the soldiers will come in and lock the entire city down. No one is allowed on the street, and many people are brought in for questioning. Often times, merely being in possession of weapons or not being well-established citizens are grounds for questioning and detaining. For this reason, many of the larger cities in Bjorin pose a bit of a catch-22 for adventurers. On one hand, large cities are where all of the interesting things happen and where the best goods can be acquired. On the other, the situation can often be volatile and require laying low for days on end.
   Bjorin has gotten a decent amount of food from Feldin in the past. Since the embargo, they have had to stretch their food production as thin as possible. With much of their food getting routed to the east for the troops, this has left the smaller settlements on the west with much less food than normal. As food stores begin to dwindle, the population in the west begins to grow restless and uneasy.
   
Feldin: Feldin has issues with increased security, just like Bjorin, although they tend not to take it as far. King Torin is a bit disappointed that he didn’t get the aid from Lethærin that he’d hoped for, but he is not letting that strain relations with the elves.
   Feldin has a strong agricultural economy. In the past, they traded a lot of food to Bjorin in exchange for silver and mithril. With the embargos in place, they have stopped all trading. Strategically, this has been working to their advantage, as the supply lines of Bjorin have been quite strained; however, there has been an additional cost. Humanitarian aid has crossed the border to help deliver food to Bjorin to get it to those who are starving. The government sees this as a security breach and frowns upon unauthorized border crossings. A vocal minority in Feldin has been protesting the embargo, and they’ve been getting louder.

Ezdrakk: Ezdrakk has hired out a considerable amount of mercenaries to Feldin, although they have not taken any sides in this war. They have been doing fairly well for themselves selling horses and weapons to both sides.
   Ezdrakk’s caste system makes for a different political climate. All things considered, it is a relatively “fair” system in how it’s applied, in that they don’t appear to discriminate against any particular group; however, if you end up in the slave caste, you will almost certainly stay there the rest of your days. Laborers tend to have a hard lot, but promotion is merit-based, and many strive to be the best of the best in hopes of a better life.
   Because of their open endorsement of slavery, they attract a fair amount of slavers. The country prohibits kidnapping people to sell into slavery, but that doesn’t stop it from actually happening. Once someone is in the slave caste, they don’t have very much legal recourse to get out. There have been a few high profile incidences of slavers capturing someone important who could have someone come looking for them. When these issues are discovered, the government is always quick to act in freeing the slave, paying for restitution, investigating the owner, and harshly punishing the slaver.

Lethærin: Lethærin is largely remaining neutral in the war, despite relatively close ties with Feldin. If anything, they have become more isolated as of late. Due to the increased strife in the region, Queen Ylsadra has increased the number of guards patrolling the woods. She’s not concerned of any violence directly from the war spilling into her woods, but there have been many who have taken advantage of the situation, and she has no intention of letting any of that into her realm.

[RobbyPants]

Problems

The war raging on in the region has caused more problems than the obvious violence and death. Some of the side effects are felt on the opposite sides of the countries.

The starving towns in West Bjorin: Normally, Bjorin relies on Feldin for a decent portion of their food. Much of the country is fairly self-sufficient, but without trade from Feldin, they need to live fairly lean. A combination of the embargo, food being diverted to the eastern front, and attacks on supply lines have left some of the towns in West Bjorin with less food than they need. They have held out for a while with existing stores and reserves of food, but time is running out, and the citizens are growing restless.

Orc attacks on West Bjorin: The Black Fang tribe has long wandered in the unsettled areas north and west of Bjorin. They typically tend to attack other groups of orcs or unaffiliated humans, leaving Bjorin alone. Until recently, they had even developed a decent reputation trading with Western Bjorin. Now, with the military occupied in the east, the tribe is taking advantage of the situation. What started as attacks on traveling caravans have escalated to full out assaults and raids on smaller settlements. The tribe is moving around enough to make a coordinated military response impossible, as resources are stretched thin.

Slavers kidnapping people in east Feldin: Ezdrakk and Feldin have a partnership where Feldin will sell some of their prisoners to Ezdrakk as slaves. While many find this disturbing, it’s only allowed for crimes that would normally result in death, lifetime imprisonment, or banishment, and Ezdrakk has a policy not to allow “illegal” slaves.
   Still, with Feldin occupied with the war on their western front, slavers have started kidnapping people from Eastern Feldin. While they cannot officially sell them in Ezdrakk, there are always unscrupulous customers willing to buy cheap slaves. After all, once someone is a slave in Ezdrakk, they have very little recourse.

Increased raids on the roads: Both Bjorin and Feldin are suffering from increased raids by bandits and other attackers on their main roads. Before the war, both countries did a fairly good job patrolling the main thoroughfares. Now, the best they can do is advise people to travel in groups with armed guards and hope for the best.

Disease in the refugee camps near the fork: Many people have been displaced due to the fighting in and near the fork. Both countries have refugee camps set up outside of towns and cities. The number of people fleeing the violence is such that the nearby towns cannot accommodate them all. Many are living in crowded tents, with little food and water. The sanitation is poor, and disease is running rampant. Almost all of the healers are on the battle front tending to the wounded, and they are unable to quickly address the pace at which the diseases are spreading. It risks spilling into the towns adjacent to the camps.