The Kayaku Plot
A day of peace, a year of strife,
Until the sunrise came.
For the Bull grew horns, the Spider grew fangs,
While the old Hound’s legs grew lame.
— Seishin Collective cipher, c. 6E Y83
Hook
“My Collective:
It is with honor and humility that I stand before you and address you as one people. Not Akiran, not Gleoisian, not Amkharan, not Jarangi — today, we are one people, united in spirit… united in fate.
This island — this ancient, holy, beautiful island — has fallen to the indecency of our oppressors. They do not deserve Akiro. They do not deserve our families, our culture, our lives in servitude.
No, they deserve our wrath. Our cunning. Our true loyalty.
Too long has the Tenjun besmirched the Kaijun’s name, or threatened his life. Too long have the Jarangi aristocrats soiled our lands with their unwanted patronage. Too long has the holy pilgrimage of Akiro been nothing but a mockery, an errand, an erasure of our past and our heritage.
Today, the world will hear our universal shout.
Look — all around you. The sunrise is here. Akiro will be free.”
— Kobalo Hitaeko, Temple of the Bull
Setting & Lore
It is the 83rd year of the Sixth Era, Ghia. Centuries ago, Akiro, the long-desired jewel of eastern Ghia, was finally captured by the Jarangi Empire after a war of attrition and superior force. Since then, the Akiran government and citizens have been forced to swear fealty to the Tenjun of Ya-Jarang, their once-independent lifestyles and culture now forfeit to their overlord’s demands.
Most evident in this pattern of systematic subjugation lies the Pilgrimage of Ada. Once, the Pilgrimage was a sacrosanct ritual performed by devout followers of the Kaijun every two years. Akirans from across the island would travel by foot, visiting holy sites along the way to the Ada Katsuhi Monastery. At its culmination, these pilgrims would receive blessings from the Kaijun in person, which is considered by most to be one of the greatest honors. Now, the Pilgrimage has been twisted and paved over by Jarangi dominance, a shadow of its former glory.
In recent years, the Pilgrimage brings Jarangi aristocracy, military leaders, and other unsavory patrons to Akiran shores — and with them, troubled politics, intimidation tactics, and a gradual erasure of the spiritual and ancient customs once prevalent. Kaijun Heiwa, the formal spiritual leader of Akiro, has fled the region in dereliction due to threats on his life. Speaking out against the Tenjun and the Jarangi aggression in general, the young Kaijun wishes for a new future for his kin from afar.
With tense sentiments brewing between Akiro and Ya-Jarang, other nations have begun to sink roots deeper into the troubled topsoil of Eastern Ghia. The nearby mercantile nation of Gleios, a long-time ally with Akiro before their conquering, has been boxed out of potential trade relations due to pressure from Ya-Jarang. Many Amkharans have also dreamed of aiding the oppressed Akirans, eager to jam a wedge beneath their rivals and former enemies in Ya-Jarang.
Enter the Seishin Collective — a conglomerate of Akiran spiritualists from the Temples of the Bull and of the Spider, Jarangi expatriots, Amkharan freedom fighters, and backed by the deep pockets of several Gleiosian investors. With peace no longer an option for those at the heart of the Seishin Collective, the rebel group has demanded that the sun rise over a new Akiro — one that has been fractured, rebuilt, and reborn.
Character Creation Information
You are a member of the Seishin Collective, a secret, multinational rebel organization dedicated to bringing freedom to the oppressed peoples of Akiro. You might be an Akiran yourself, working to liberate your homeland, your family, your friends. Or perhaps a disenfranchised Jarangi, ready to put an end to your nation’s oppressive regime. Or maybe you hail from Amkhara or Gleios, sympathizing with the Akirans’ plight, or seeing an opportunity for profitable trade with a freed Akiro. Wherever you hail, you have sworn loyalty to the Collective and its cause, and stand ready when they call upon you.
And ready you shall stand, as you are no stranger to conflict. You might be a trained operative, an ex-soldier, a monk, or simply a freedom fighter. Whatever the source of your skills may be, you are fully prepared, and expected, to use them.
Character Creation Rules
System: 4e
Level: 5
Stats: 25pt buy.
Race: Any published, refluffed as human, elf, orc, or dwarf (or any combination of two e.g. half orc/elf, half dwarf/human, etc.). Half-races are generally infertile, so you can't get down into quarters of a race.
Class: Any published.
Feats: Choice of free expertise feat.
Themes: Allowed and encouraged.
Background: Extra language or +2 to a skill.
Equipment: Three free magic items of (or lower than) levels 4, 5, and 6. 50 gp to spend on adventuring gear / mundane items or to have on your person.
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. Every character should know Akiran as the default language for this setting (as opposed to common), and should they gain additional languages (from race, theme, feat, etc.) then simply choose additional ones from the list of custom languages provided below.
Hybrids: You are allowed to take the feat "Hybrid Talent" as many times as you like as a hybrid character. 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.
Languages- [SHOW]
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.
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