Hook
It is the year 900, during the waning days of the Age of Immortals. The evil wizard Malegoth has been slowly rising in power. The adventurers of this age, as of yet, were not powerful enough to stop him. But there was one group who had been training with the elves, hunting down powerful monsters to prepare, and now finally, they were ready. These heroes, equipped with knowledge and blessings granted by the elves set out with the goal of stopping him, and had finally found his tower, and knew they would only have one chance to stop him.
You are one of these heroes. The months and years you have spent hunting gigantic monsters has led you to this moment. What could, potentially, be the final moments of your life. It is now the night before the final dawn, a deep fear that seemed to cling to the hearts of you and your companions continues to rise, trying to fight against your spirits. What happens if you fail? What happens if Malegoth is simply too powerful? These are questions you don't yet have the answer for, but you know it's too late to turn back now. In only a few hours the sun will rise, and you must be ready to face the evil wizard.
General Character Creation Rules
System: 4e
Level 11
Stats: 25pt buy. (rather than 4e's default 22)
Race: Any published, refluffed as human, elf, orc, or dwarf (or any combination of two e.g. half orc/elf, half dwarf/human, etc.).
Class: Any published.
Feats: Choice of free expertise feat.
Themes: Allowed.
Background: +2 to a skill or add a language.
Equipment: One level 11 item, one level 12 item, and one level 10 item, as well as 5000 gold to spend on adventuring supplies or another magic item(s).
Skills: There are no class skill restrictions; any class can train any skill. You still must take the mandatory/bonus skills granted by your class as usual (e.g. Arcana for a wizard). Also, if after class selection (and prior to race, feat, theme, etc. selection) you possess fewer than 4 trained skills, train as many as it takes to get to 4.
Rituals: Component costs for all rituals are reduced to ¼ their normal values to encourage ritual use. Also, Raise Dead will not be allowed in this game – dead is dead, though we hope that doesn’t have to be an issue.
Inherent Bonuses: No.
Hybrids: In any game I run, you will be allowed to take the feat "Hybrid Talent" as many times as you like as a hybrid character. I feel like this helps make up for the fact that most hybrids are incredibly sub-par, and it allows for some really interesting combinations if you look hard enough. The CB does not allow for this option by default, though, so you will need to house-rule it and keep track of the benefits manually.
- Full Timeline
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https://docs.google.com/document/d/14iV ... sp=sharing[/sblock]
While there is a decent set of lore so far with the timeline and the short write up below, I would very much appreciate help in the lore department for the different races if you so choose (ie. "I want to play an Orc who went far far north, can I come up with some lore for the north!"), thanks!
The land you start off in is a great crater, which goes on for miles and miles in any direction. The mountains that encircle the area are on the horizon, being miles and miles high and nearly perfectly circling the crater except one or two spots where the mountains break, and have small paths to the outside world. Many humans choose not to explore out that far, but a few stray ones have, though few have returned to share their experiences.
- Races of the World
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Humans
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[sblock3=Orcs]Orcs come from the deserts that form a godless ring around the mountains. Many Orcs specialize in fighting due to their immense raw strength. Starting in a close ring around the crater are where you find most of the few orcish communities. A small number of them would be:
Clan Sharptusk: A brutal clan of orcish hunters who have made a name for themselves by taking down big game.
Clan Savage Hand: A Barbarian tribe located near the edge of the western Rim.
Clan Steel Claw: An orcish clan that has mastered the art of shapeshifting, many of which end up being druids.[/sblock3]
Dwarves
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[sblock4=Elves]Moon Elves: The original Elves who lived near the ancient pool left by the gods. Experts in Arcane magic. Not all Moon Elves are practitioners of the Arcane, though many are, and even the ones who do not have some base level of Arcane ability. Moon Elves, blessed by the pool at birth, live for thousands of years.
Sun Elves: They broke off from the original elves and made huge towers, choosing to praise the sun and the gods rather than the arcane magic of the pool. Not all Sun Elves are practitioners of holy magic, though all Sun Elves have some latent magical ability from their exposure to the sun. Even without direct exposure to the pool, Sun Elves (and Aurora Elves) live upwards of 1000 years.
Dark Elves: These elves broke off from the Moon Elves to hide in the deep caves below, stealing some of the magic pool for themselves. Many of these Dark Elves are experts in shadow magic, drinking and feeding on it. A common trait is that Dark Elves can shift from shadow to shadow, and experts of such abilities seem to teleport across the battlefields at night. The Dark Elves, for stealing water from the pool, are cursed to live forever. They cannot die, even if slain on the fields of battle. Their souls are reincarnated into new bodies that emerge from the pool they have hidden deep below the surface.
Aurora Elves: Aurora Elves, more commonly known as Snow Elves by the humans, are elves who migrated north many years ago. They once bartered with the dragon of the north in his youth, coming later to call him "Bartheus". Their exchange gave birth to the hot springs which allow the elves to survive in the cold, harsh northlands. As per their name, they worship the Aurora that lights up the cold dark night sky. They (Like the Sun Elves) live for upwards of 1000 years.[/sblock4][/sblock]