A Legacy of Jade

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  Thread: A Legacy of Jade
  

Game Description

The Golden Way.

The name conjures images of exotic cultures and the distant and fabled lands of Kara-tur. There, in the lands beyond the Sunset Mountains and the Quoya desert lies the legendary empire of Shou Lung, the Land of the Heavenly Dragon. From the Shou all manner of wealth, spices, fine silks, porcelains and more flow to far western Faerun.

It is the Golden Way that connects these lands. It is the Golden Way that has saw the rise and fall of empires and the rise and fall of fortunes.

But in recent decades the Golden Way has lost some of its lustre. The warrior horsemen of the Tuigan people devastated trade and security alike in their conquest. Their defeat sent them riding back for their homes in the Hordelands and left a wake of devastation behind.

While Faerun was spared the worst of the Horde's ravages, Kara-Tur was not. The power of the Shou is in decline. Traders, mystics and adventurers list dozens of causes, each less probable than the next. What is certain is that trade flows slower than before and the Golden Way has become far less safe to travel. Smaller settlements, each dependent on the east-west flow of trade and wealth are themselves being picked off by opportunistic raiders, regional warlords, Tuigan horse nomads and more.

It is on the Golden Way, in the town of Two Stars on the marshy banks of Lake Mulsantir that you find yourself. Among the people of this settlement on the most eastern edge of Faerun are four whom you know (or know of) well.

The first is Amiko Faijutsu, owner of the Rusty Dragon Inn. A smart, beautiful and irreverent woman of Shou descent (though of local birth) she has always disdained her place among the town nobility (an honor hard-won through her late father's business acumen). Though her talents are many and a life of ease and comfort is only a stone throw away, her independent spirit has her longing for distant horizons.

The second is Cai Verona, once part of the Verona's Vernators, a highly reputable mercenary group specializing in guarding caravans. A falling out with his brother, Leto, several years ago has left Cai to picking up small jobs guarding caravans and serving as a bodyguard for merchants passing through Two Stars. Lately, he has tried his hand at running his own small caravan but has yet to do more than make some very local trade journeys.

Koya Mvashti is a rarity, even for Two Stars. She is a Tengu, one of the race of half-crow humanoids native to the lands of Kara-Tur but was born to her flock far west of there. Koya is old, even by the standards of her own race and is a fixture of Two Stars. She has been known to work a bit of nature magic when called upon (or when it suits her) and has known Cai and Amiko for what seems like forever, being friends of both of their parents. Still, the Old Crow, as she is called locally, is eager for once last grand voyage in her life and the allure of seeing her homeland for the first time is very tempting.

Then there is the elf woodsmistress, Shalelu. Quiet and reserved in the way of her people, she is the finest archer in Two Stars. She is always among the first to know of an impending raid by the local goblins on the town or an owlbear ranging too close to the Golden Way. No one quite knows why she keeps coming back to Two Stars or what her interests in the town are, but like the sunrise, Shalelu is ever there and always watching.

For these four, just as for you, the wealth and splendor of the East beckons. However, the fickle hand of Destiny calls as well. After all, every Shou knows....Fate must lead those who are willing, and push those who are not.
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Game Style: A classic mix of roleplay and combat. The game will be adapting one of the Paizo adventure paths (The Jade Regent) to fit the DnD 5e ruleset as well as the world of Faerun. If you have played or DMd the Jade Regent adventure path (or for whatever reason have read the modules) please do not submit an application. Thank you. If you only got a short way in to the campaign, let me know the details and we can probably work past it.

The Campaign Setting and Important Info:
As mentioned, the campaign is an adaptation of Paizo's Jade Regent adventure path. We will be using the world of the Forgotten Realms rather than Golarion because its geography is more in-line with my idea for the campaign. I teach East Asian history and want to use my expertise in this field to help bring this campaign to life.

Starting Point: - The campaign begins in the town of Two Stars, on the eastern border of the country of Thesk. It is one of several cities that exist along the Golden Way, the Forgotten Realms equivalent to the Silk Road. Though the campaign begins in Thesk, the party will not be there long. Eventually, the group will head east along the Golden Way towards the fabled empire of Shou Lung where the high point of the campaign will take place.

Major Themes of the Campaign:

The Journey - One of the essential elements of the campaign is the idea of the 'epic journey'. Like the plots of The Odyssey or Journey to the West, the journey to reach the goal is an important part of the campaign. It will take some time (and levels) before the party properly reaches Shou Lung. To support this and make the journey more meaningful, the party will be moving with what is essentially their mobile HQ, a trade caravan. The official campaign has a specialized ruleset for adjudicating campaign battles against the dangers of the Golden Way. We will be using some of these rules and adapting others to create a sense of importance and action to the difficult journey east.

The Key NPCs - There are four Key NPCs (see the Character Creation sub group) in the campaign who are destined to travel with the PCs towards Shou Lung. Each of them has an important role in the story. They are NOT DM Pcs. They are expected to weave their way in and out of the main action, but never to take the place of a PC. To emphasize their importance, the campaign comes with a built in relationship system to determine who are friends and who are rivals (or potentially, love interests). The Key NPCs are extremely important to the campaign and will be the PCs main support while they navigate the dangers of the Golden Way.

Shou Lung - In the Forgotten Realms, Shou Lung is the FR equivalent for China. However, I know that Japanese culture and history is often better known and understood among Western audiences. For this reason, there will still be samurai, ninja and the like within the confines of Shou Lung, despite its essential Chinese influence. Thus, players who wish to play more Japanese inspired characters ( from the islands of Wa and Kozakura in the FR) may do so. If any player needs help with adding authenticity to their East Asian-inspired character, feel free to ask. Authenticity is not a requirement nor even a help to being selected to play, but I'm happy to lend my knowledge where asked. The campaign as a whole is heavily East Asian themed.

Character Creation (Nuts and Bolts): The following are allowed options for character creation/building.
1. The Players Handbook - 5th Edition
2. The Races, Domains and Archtypes from the DMG -5th Edition
3. All option from the Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide except for any race (or racial variant) that grants flight.
4. All Unearthed Arcana content (but check with me first, I'll have additional questions about your planned build.
5. Matt Mercer's Gunslinger Fighter Archtype and his Blood Hunter Class are both available. See http://www.dmsguild.com/ for both of these.

We will be using the standard point buy from the rulebook for character creation. Rolling for stats is not allowed. Each character is allowed a single free feat of their choosing. You must select one of the backgrounds from the PHB (soldier, criminal, etc). Also, each character will be selecting a special Trait which will further link the PCs to one of the Key NPCs of the campaign (See below). The trait options can be found here -> http://www.myth-weavers.com/showthread.php?t=344711

No character may be of any evil alignment.

Character Creation (Roleplay): - Character Applications go here --> http://www.myth-weavers.com/showthread.php?t=344942

A complete character application will include all of the following

1. The character background - Not to be confused with the background selection in the PHB, this is a written history of the character. All backgrounds will require the character to be an acquaintance of the Key NPC Amiko Faijitsu. The character may also know other Key NPCs (or not) but Amiko must be at least someone the PC knows. Describe this relationship in the background somewhere. All PCs start in the town of Two Stars on the eastern edge of Faerun. Two stars is a small trade town on the Golden Way, the major trade route that runs between Faerun and Kara-Tur. Information on the four Key NPCs is found here --> http://www.myth-weavers.com/showthread.php?t=344656

2. All characters will have an Ideal, Bond and Flaw as per normal D&D 5e character generation. The lists in the PHB are guides, you may invent your own.

3. An IC post in which the character has a self-reflection on their last conversation with Amiko.

4. Not related to your character, but please include your timezone in your app.

Anything beyond this may help, but is not required.

Expectations on Posting: Ability to post a minimum of one time every weekday is required. A single post is required at some point during the weekend. I have kept this requirement in my other campaign and it has run successfully for over a year and a half now. If you cannot commit to this, please do not apply. Exceptions for things that come up (as they do) is of course expected, but even the slightest development of a pattern will require me to ask another player to take your spot.

Player expectations: I am looking players who understand several simple and fundamental things about DnD or roleplaying games in general. If you do not agree with my view on these issues, this is not the game for you.

1. The game is more important than your character - This is a shared, group activity. Its success is dependent upon your ability to craft and play a character that is malleable enough that they can bend and flow with most group decisions. If this mentality is shared by the entire party, serious conflicts are unlikely. If you find yourself only able to play characters who are so set in their development and personality that they cannot yield to actions and decisions that move the game forward for the benefit of all, please do not apply.

2. The show must go on - Campaigns work when players realize there is a joint responsibility to make them work. In pbp, this is especially true. We all need each other to keep the campaign fun, engaging and entertaining. The group needs four personalities to drive the campaign, not three personalities and an emotionless stat-block.

3. The campaign world is a shell, not straight jacket. - When I use a campaign world in my campaigns, the background and history (the official canon, as it were) is there to provide a pretty background, names to organizations and places and so on. Naturally, some players will be very, very comfortable in the Forgotten Realms setting and understand it well and may even memorize large chunks of its history of background. I'm thrilled at this and will absolutely provide such players with interactions that meet that level of commitment. However, please do not assume that other players are equally likely to know as much. I don't ask my players to understand more about the campaign world than I have personally provided. If they want to go further, awesome. If they don't, that is fine also.

Combat: Combat will be 'theater of the mind'. No battlemaps will be used. We use a tiered initiative system.