The deadline to complete your character is the evening of Thursday, April 11th.
Active PCs:
Ser Daris Caine, The Lion Knight of Cainehall -- Dragonborn Cavalier -- Hired Muscle (Namelessjake)
Naia Espina, the Sirensong Scholar -- Eladrin Bard -- Codebreaker/Linguist (Scratcherclaw)
Amon, the Tulrissian Trapsmith -- Wilden Thief -- Trap Specialist (am0n)
Morag Siridean, War Doctor -- Longtooth Shifter Cleric|Runepriest -- Surgeon (Quincunx)
Dolorian Antov: Hero, Soldier, Explorer -- Eladrin Warlord -- Spelunker (GingerGiant)
Hana, the Mama Bear -- Elf Sentinel|Invoker -- Geologist (TauNeutrino)
Ryuunosuke, Dragon of the Tundra -- Genasi Swordmage -- Arcanist (FinalTemplar)
Ilmoto Brandt, Rattlefinger Alchemist -- Warforged Artificer|Wizard -- Alchemist (BartNL)
Caoimhe, Cedros' Curious Pupil -- Elf Monk -- Hired Muscle (TheWalrus42)
For over a century, the ruins dotting the island of Kandoras have long interested explorers, historians, and followers of the occult. While the many groups studying the ruins have done so for different reasons, the standing consensus is that the ancient, collapsed buildings and artifacts are thought to have once been part of a civilization that died out in Eras past. An ancient, ornate tunnel leading into the mountains has stayed closed, impermeable by brute force or magical interference. These ruins have been hailed as a dead end for any interested party, and many have called expending anymore effort a fool’s errand.
Until now.
After a recent discovery, the Explorer’s Guild claims to have found the secret to entering the true heart of Kandoras. You will encounter challenging puzzles, ancient mysteries, and dangers that you’ve never faced before. Will you find mythical artifacts and treasure, previously lost to history? Will you find what truly happened to the native Kandorans? Or will you leave the island, your pride injured and your supplies dried up, the laughingstock of the region? Time will tell.
Setting Information
6E Y84
The Explorer’s Guild of Fort Sakura — one of the great city’s many guilds — is devoted to the exploration and excavation of the region of Andor, in hopes of furthering everyone’s understanding of the region’s history. From dwarven ruins in the river valley of central Andor, ancient settlements of local tribal populations, to the ancient civilizations of times long past, this guild of archaeologists and explorers has devoted many years to the study of the artifacts they’ve found and the sites they’ve uncovered.
Recently, the ruins of a long lost civilization — known to the guild as the ruins of Kandoras — have become the centerpiece of their exploits. A large expedition has been funded to research these long-standing ruins on an island well to the south of the peninsula. The hope is that through intense study and determination, the guild’s scholars will be able to unlock the secrets of Kandoras and access the inner chambers of the ruins. What will lay inside? What ancient secrets will be discovered?
For years it was thought a fool’s errand. While the ruins have been known about for over a century, they’ve always proved elusive. The doors deeper into the ruins have been sealed shut, magically prevented from being opened by brute force. However, upon investigating a collection of notes thought useless, a historian named Cedros Garmyn discovered a series of inscriptions that may have yielded further clues. Cedros convinced the guild leaders to fund the expedition, and after a few months on site, his hunch proved true. With aid, he was able to decipher the inscriptions and encounter what promises to be a method to reach the long-thought unreachable interior of the ruins, and you will be accompanying him.
Character Creation
In this campaign, you have the choice to play either an established figure from the Explorer’s Guild, or a hired hand that has been with the group for a few months.
As a member of the Explorer’s Guild, you are likely based in Fort Sakura. Whether you are from the Andor Peninsula or from another part of Voreld, that is up to you. You are likely a lower to mid-ranking member of the Guild. While the ancient history and exploration of the world is your passion, you’re no stranger to danger. You’ve developed a decent understanding of martial, arcane, or other powers that have allowed you to survive a few escapades in the past.
As a hired hand, you can be from practically anywhere. You joined the Explorer’s Guild’s excursion onto the isle of Kandoras a few months ago. In that time, you’ve had the opportunity to build relationships with the rest of the crew, hired or not. Whether you have any motive toward their end goal of the Kandoran mysteries, or are simply there for the pay, you’ll be a critical member of the team as well.
As part of character creation, it is important to consider your character’s role in this expedition at large. Certain tasks need experts to complete them, and should you desire your character can be the resident expert in said task. From master of disarming traps or picking locks, expert in the arcane, or merely a hired muscle to fend of unknown dangers, your presence is important to the overall completion of the expedition. Below you will find a list of roles you can fill and the specific skills it is suggested to be trained/maxed out if you want to fill that role. Each role can only be filled once, apart from hired muscle. Any not filled by a PC will be filled by a level 1 companion npc, so do not feel pressured to fill any if you’d prefer to be combat-focused.
Roles:
• Trap Specialist (Thievery, Insight) claimed by am0n
• Codebreaker / Linguist (Multiple languages, History) claimed by Scratcherclaw
• Geologist (Dungeoneering, Nature) claimed by TauNeutrino
• Surgeon (Heal) claimed by Quincunx
• Alchemist (Alchemist feat and/or theme, Artificer class a bonus) claimed by Bart
• Arcanist (Arcana, History) claimed by FinalTemplar
• Spelunker (Dungeoneering, Athletics, or Acrobatics) claimed by GingerGiant
• Hired Muscle (anything) TheWalrus42, Namelessjake
Character Creation Rules
System: 4e
Level: 4
Stats: 25pt buy (rather than 4e's default 22)
Race: Any published.
Class: Any published.
Feats: Choice of free expertise feat.
Themes: Allowed.
Background: +2 to a skill or add a language.
Equipment: One free level 3, level 4, and level 5 magic item. You receive 680 gp to spend on any other magic items or consumables. Food and adventuring gear outside of RP-related items (e.g. gambler’s gear, musical instruments, or footpads) will be provided by the Explorer’s Guild, and is unavailable for individual purchase. If you are unsure if the item you want is allowed, ask.
(For newer players: feel free to roleplay the magic items as more inherent abilities of the character if you like. We often like to separate mechanics and the character lore, so none of the default lore behind the magic items matters)
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.
Languages: We will not be using the standard 4e languages, but instead the ones listed below. Andorian will be the required campaign-specific language. If by (mechanical) race or some other means you are granted a language other than Andorian, pick one language from this list instead.
Hybrids: You will be allowed to take the feat "Hybrid Talent" as many times as you like as a hybrid character. 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.
[sblock=Languages]Common - Common is the term used to refer to a trade-based lingua franca of Voreld. Most people know at least some of the common tongue, and many speak it fluently, but it is not the primary language of any nation or set of peoples. Those who only know Common are typically sailors, or others who have spent most of their lives traveling rather than in one place. No society holds it in high regard, though most recognize its utility in facilitating trade with foreigners.
Tulrissian – The national language of Tulrisse, a primarily human agricultural-based kingdom. It has many regional dialects, but the nobility all speak a common variant that is viewed as its 'true' form.
Old Serran - The language spoken in the old, now-collapsed Serran Kingdom. Very few people still speak it with any amount of regularity except for the priests and priestess of the Serran gods and the Tenants, who need to know it for many old texts.
Modern Serran – The primary language spoken by the small kingdoms of an expansive arid region known as the Serran Desert, which consists mostly of humans and orcs. It evolved from the language of the region's once-great Kingdom, which is still highly regarded if rarely spoken.
Imardanian – The official language of the Church of the Goddess and, by extension, the Arch-Bishopric of Imardin. Like Modern Serran, it developed from the Old Serran language, though with more outside influence than its sister tongue. It is spoken by most in the region, and many abroad have learned it for the cultural benefits as well.
Kurnish – The language of the orc tribes of Kurnhuelde, a region primarily consisting of snowy hills on the Kurn Peninsula. Like Tulrissian it has many regional dialects, often one per clan, though there is a common version for communicating between clans.
Grystok - This language, the most widespread in the Gryst region, developed over time as a trade language between the Grystbehn member states. It formed as a mix of the various common native languages, primarily Modern Serran, Kurnish, and Elvish, though there are influences from Dwarven and a variety of smaller local dialects as well.
Andorian – A language that developed in the Andorian peninsula after it was settled by the Andor dwarves and became a prominent location in Voreld. It was originally a strange mix of Dwarven and Tulrissian, but has since grown into a distinct language of its own.
Native Andorian - The language spoken by the tribes native to Andor, who are often seen as bandits and outlaws by the northerners who have since settled the region. Each tribe has its own variant on the tongue, though they are, for the most part, mutually intelligible.
Kandorasian - An ancient, dead language once spoken by the natives of Kandoras, an island southeast of Andor. Though no one knows how it is spoken, the written version can be found scattered throughout ruins on the island and on mainland Andor. Most who know how to translate it are part of the Explorer's Guild, based in Fort Sakura.
Dwarven – The common language of the many dwarf kingdoms that occupy the mountains that run down the center of Voreld. The dwarves view their language as sacred, and so there is very little variation between the kingdoms. Andor was the great outlier, which eventually developed its own language through outside influence.
Elven – A catch-all term in Voreld for any of the many distinct dialects spoken by the elf natives of Quellam, a continent to the east. There were once many more than there are now, due to the elven population mostly assimilating into the other cultures of Voreld. Few still speak Elven outside of the few, small elf villages in the Serranak.
Gleiosian - A language spoken primarily on Gleios and the surrounding smaller islands it influences. It and Brennisian have influenced one another over the years, the two nations often at war with one another. It also has some loanwords from Akiran, due to the nations' historically close bond.
Brennisian - A language that originated on the Isle of Brennis, but spread after the small nation conquered a large region of the archipelago. It has since become much less prevalent than it once was.
Cru'unish - Cru'un has always had its own native language, though it's been conquered so many times that it has only recently been the island's official language. The language has evolved greatly over time as a result, having strong influence from both Brennisian and Gleiosian, its most common occupiers.
Gerrikan - Historically the island of Gerrik has spent much of its time under Gleiosian control. Before that, its people often traded with its larger neighbor, so they shared a language. However, an influx in orcs from Kurnhuelde caused a shift in both society and language, eventually leading to a Gerrikan language influenced by both Gleiosian and Kurnish.
Old Ghian - A language originating on Ghia, and spreading with its culture to the smaller nearby islands. In modern times it is not even spoken on Ghia, except by scholars and some members of the nobility. It has since given way to two child languages, the result of the great cultural and political schism that resulted after the Civil War.
Amkharan - After the Civil War, Amkhara began to distance itself from its neighbors in Ya-Jarang. They began to speak with new slang and picked up words from its neighbors in Visha, causing the speech of those in the east and west to begin to drift apart. Over time the differences became enough for the two to be considered two different, if superficially similar, languages.
Jarangi - While Amkhara was influenced by its neighbors to the south, Ya-Jarang began to pick up words and syntax changes from Akiro once it was finally conquered. The assimilation of the two societies caused the shift in language that finally pushed the two halves of Ghian language apart.
Akiran - Akiro has always had its own language, which has changed very little over the centuries. It is kept this way on purpose, as it has always been the script used in the writings of Akiran monks, and others who follow the religious spiritualism that has been adopted by Ghia and its surrounding territories.
Chathran - A language spoken primarily on Chathra and Cianthum. The originating on Chathra, as the name suggests, the people of their neighboring island have adopted it as their own for many centuries now. There are some regional variations, but for the most part the two islands speak identically.
Okani - A language spoken by the people of Mai'okon and the surrounding small islands under its influence. The people of Mai'kawa and Mai'okon once spoke the same language (now known as Kawani), but that language is all but dead in modern times. Okani continued to evolve over time, and though the two are similar they are no longer mutually intelligible.
Kawani - A language spoken by the native peoples of Mai'kawa, the island now known as D'armon. It was once a major language spoken by a regional power, but is now restricted to inland tribes descended from the old kingdom's inhabitants who fled to the mountains when the invasion forces arrived.
Vishan - The Vishan peoples once had many local dialects, and some speakers in some villages still speak these ultimately-unimportant languages. However, as the nation of Visha become a united and worldly place, the influences of more widely-spoken languages (such as Old Ghian and Chathran) have all-but erased the native aspects.[/sblock]