Barony of Felines
Gathering of the Nobles
As a noble child, your PC met 10 year old Bruce Wayne. His parents were viciously murdered so you and your parents went to pay respects at Wayne Manor in New Gotham. You spent 10 days with Bruce in his early grief, exploring the expansive manor grounds and making childhood promises. 20 years later you receive a letter reminding you that you pledged on the old gods and the new to come to Bruce's aid should he ever need it. Feeling obligated, and wanting a good relationship with the wealthy Wayne family, you call for your horse, say goodbye to your family and barony for the dark city... New Gotham.
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I am looking for 1-2 new players to join a game that just began. Make a noble with a cohort and I will assist you fitting your character into the setting. Feel free to read The game thread for the full story, but here is the condensed version... The Knights of Sorrows (PCs) are given a defunct barony where Bruce's uncle rules but has gone into seclusion. Forced to reroute due to a crumbling bridge, the nobles travel through an adjoining barony. The party encounters beggars and vagabonds on the boarder of their barony - Soursoot Meadows.
You have the option to remake the existing character Lanai and her cohort Sinestra, this is her background/description. She is the current Wayne delegate for Baroness of Soursoot Meadows. If you wish to play her, use what you want change the rest (make a copy of the CRS and remake Lanai's mechanics).
This adventure is split in two parts and will involve skill challenges to help baronies in addition to encountering possible deadly fights.
Major Influences for this original module are the novel Brothers Majere by Kevin T. Klein & PFAP War for the Crown (specifically done by the wonderful podcast Find the Path).
Rules for PC creation
7th+1000xp w cohort
Religion=polytheistic. Current trend to have a duo or trinity of deities tattooed on wrists.
Preferred deities ....
Mystra, Dumathoin, Abbathor, {elemental deities- Akadi, Grumbar, Istishia, Kossuth}, Desna, Pelor, Gond, Auril, Talos, Tymora, the Raven Queen (N, Death, Winter, Fate), Malar, Mielikki, Selune, Waukeen, Moradin, Corellon, Hanali, Deneir.
preferred sources -FRCS, DLCS, ECS, Dragon Mag material including Dragon Compendium, UA, Com Adv, CWar, CArc, CDiv, MM I and II, PHB, DMG, ExPsionHB, MoFa, PGtF, RoF, RoS, RoD, RoW, SS. Most other sources are ok, you don't have to ask.
Full HP 1st Lv. Roll (rerolling 1's) or 1/2 rounded up.
stats: roll 3d6 8xs dropping lowest two. You can always chose the 34 point buy system. cohort rolls 3d6 6xs and can always use the elite array.
+Start with typical gold. Fine and regular clothing, dress outfits, are provided as well as a signet ring indicating your station (50gp).
+Ignore the first 10 lbs of equipment for encumbrance and small folk don't receive encumbrance size penalty.
+Please list weight (over .49 lbs) and price of all items (above 9 silver) on CRS.
+Everyone full PC gets a bonus 3 ranks in a profession as nobles have jobs and families. job examples = knight, captain (of a vessel), judge, barrister, bookkeeper, priestess, sage, diplomat, banker, artist, performer.
+Full PCs can have the Leadership feat for free at 6th level (so you can take improved cohort at 6th). Your leadership score/requirements can trigger off of char wis or int. Your cohort is a loyal companion that is tied to you and your house; a little brother, a niece, a cousin of lower station, a servant, a squire, a favorite teacher/advisor/priestess, a loyal umber hulk bodyguard, a Kender or tortle servitor, a psychic 'watcher' to monitor your family for the lichking, an undead servant (remember, undead are not necessarily evil in Lichstone... the king is well tolerated and he's a lich.) etc.
+non-humans can negotiate a swap for a feat at first level (example: lose gnomish spells and Add +1 to illusion spells cast by gnomes and +1 racial bonus on attack rolls against kobolds and goblinoids.for 1st feat).
+magic is restricted in this setting mostly at higher levels (teleport, resurrection, raise dead, most spells over 7th level). Sorcerers are mostly elven; non-elven sorcerers are sought after by the Imperium.
+I use a small amount of pathfinder stuff (prices, items, creatures) like the spell Identify and your ability to identify items and the price of amulets of mighty fists. If you have one suggestion involving your character, just ask.
+You can take on one flaw for a feat at first level.
Races on Drelin
Elves - the high desert is dominated with tall elves, oft with air genie bloodlines. The shorter cousins live primarily in the Forever Forest under the strict Elven Imperium. Gnomes and elves swap lifespans.
Humans - every shade but white. The people of the Outlands, high plateau, and mountains are mostly asian in appearance. Those from the desert lands have a middle eastern appearance. Those of the western heartland and Lichstone have light black and tan tones.
Dwarves - of Drelin are modeled after insular mountain dwarves from Dragonlance. Mostly non-good cave dwellers that have a superiority complex, they live in relatively small clan caverns that trade or raid with the 'outside world'. Most dwarves live in the Krendes Mountains in the north in an eternal territorial battle with giant kin. They famously maim their ogre slaves and ogres famously like to eat dwarves. They tend to have darker skin. The other large population of dwarves in the mountains of the north and central east coast. These are the dark stain on dwarves on Drelin, they operate as pirates, dominating the rough eastern seaboard making trade nearly impossible. They, unlike all other Drelin dwarves, are indiscriminate enslavers
Planetouched - Aasimar are strong in the Molten Barony of Caladan and Teiflings are mostly found in the Molten Barony of Gedi Prime. The molten baronies are northeast of New Gotham.
Fey - lots of fey in the Forever Forest.
Gnomes - gnomes populations are low and have offspring of every variety (of gnome). Gnomes and elves swap lifespans. Historically they tinker and invent a lot.
Halflings - only Kender exist on Drelin, brought as slaves by orcs over three centuries ago. They are a toned down version of the DL race. I have rules if someone is interested in playing one.
Half elves - usually originate in and around Moonglade, largely subjugated by the Imperial Elves.
Half orcs - prevalent in the Outlands. Ancestors from the orcish invasion of hundreds of years past. There are no full orc left on Drelin. Anyone can use the human stats instead of half orc.
Sea-elves- the spongy coral coast has a healthy population of green and blue shaded sea elves. They trade with New Gotham.
Anthropomorphic Animals are prevalent around New Gotham including Tortles, rabbit-folk, grippli, kenku (from beyond the mists, in Lichstone)
There are no goblins.
Bloodlines are prevalent on Drelin.
map of Drelin - New Gotham is not in this map. It would be where the last letter in Merzy River is, the r.
You will make a 7th level nobility with attache.
This adventure utilizes the talents of Lichstonian nobles to aid local baronies. You will create your own House of the Olde Monarchy. I have three examples here... Yours will be similar listing= name and briefly describe your barony/dutchy, god/goddess (up to 3), major business, house flag/colors (remember: red is the king's colour and is tightly restricted). The 1% mostly live within Lichstone castle its self.
Family : Gellentara (99%) Known for their vampire lineage.
Goddess : Evening Glory
Business : Leadership of New Gotham (the Lord Mayor Duke Davids Gellentara)
Flag and Colors: same as New Gotham or Evening Glory
Family : Wayne (92%) Known for immense diverse wealth. Count Bruce Wayne.
Gods : Kord and Dumathoin
Business : Holdings in New Gotham (the Wayne Academy of Youth, Wayne Enterprises, Wayne Bank). Philanthropy, loans and banking.
Flag : Pink W over grey.
Family : (93%) Atreides from the Molten Barony Caladan
Gods : Shihalud (Sandworms in the desert lands), Kord (riding a bull), Istishia
Business : Trade partnership with the secretive desert elves and the spice only they produce. The elves also produce and trade in the illicit drug styigia. House Atreides (aasimar) are known for their ruthless psionic academy and loyal house troops. At constant war with neighboring Molten Barony Gedi Prime ruled by the sadistic, demon-worshipping House Harkonnen (tiefling).
Flag : Black bull head on Green.
want to play a psionic Paul Atreides? He is married to a highborn desert elf.
-local baronies.
---Three Dam Baronies. The fortified New Castle (flag is a white hound on black) is barrier between the dangers of the east (wastelands, desert empires, swamps) and New Gotham. The middle barony is a swampy valley called Soursout Meadows (flag is a pink paw print on grey). Miremoor- barony of flowers and canals. Ruled by the young and beautiful Floral Duchess Zyah. Southern most of the 3 Dam Baronies. Verdant canals occupied mostly by Kender, Tortles, rabbit folk and grippli (flag is a blue river otter on green).
---northeast of New Gotham is the 2 Molten Baronies. These heavily fortified villages are the source of many resources including salt, stone quarries, oil fields, coal mines. These baronies create a barrier between Lichstone and both the Elven Imperium and the Wastelands.
Other businesses for your family might include :
-other towns and villages behind the mists. examples ; Gotham known for its architecture and Ravenstone known for its kenku witches and oracles. Most of Lichstone countryside is farmland to the coast. The coast is dangerous with lobstrocities raids and dry conditions.
-landowner. All nobility owns lands. Your father and/or mother probably rule one of the baronies (you can be as descriptive as you want with your 'home' barony or just use one of the provided). There are 20 baronies behind the mists in Lichstone proper, the above mentioned 5 baronies around New Gotham. In addition, 8 more baronies compose the Kenderlands aka South Central Drelin. The SCD baronies are the least desirable because of the wet conditions and the sometimes infuriating kender.
-the lucrative Mistberry wine. Kender druids from South Central Drelin grow berries and most of it is processed/traded out of New Gotham to the elves.
-coal mines. Strong unions ensure the workers of the mines.
-ore manufacturing for steel.
-trade/diplomatic relations with elves. Either the xenophobic elves from the Forever Forest or the secretive sea elves. You can play an elf or sea elf whose family conducts trade relations with the Wayne family.
-salt mines. Tough work mostly done by the imprisoned.
-military. Knights of the realm can work the waters on river barges in South Central Drelin protecting kender citizens from the swamplands to the east or on the open oceans working with fishing crews and sea elves in defense of their homeland (the spongy coral coast). They can be calvary along the northern walls, soldiers in Lichstone the capital city or the newly formed New Gotham. The lichking has a personal guard similar looking to the imperial guard in star wars.
-religion. Many shrines and churches are run by the Lichstone nobility.
-necromancy. Lichstone is the home of necromantic magic on Drelin. They embrace undead and use them for labor and protection. Necromancers are revered in Lichstone.
-waterways. There are canals and sewers in New Gotham and many rivers of the kenderlands. All throughout is the ubiquitous eel trade.
-alchemy, technology. Gnomes ply their trade in New Gotham.
-ship building. Large sea-faring ships are constructed in part in New Gotham and shipped on barges downriver through South Central Drelin to the ocean.
-the dwarves of Lichstone. Cliffside entrances to the isolated dwarves clans. Some ride the waves as fishermen mainly staying to the safe waters of the soft spongy coral coast. The clans are led by the Highcrest family.
A note on the Lichking and the nobility. - The nobility is stable, ensuring lineages through marriages and business partnerships. They exist, however, entirely at whim of the rarely seen Lichking. They can only guess as to what he wants unless they receive orders from his imperial highness usually through a kenku inquisitor. In general, the king wants Lichstone to remain strong and independent. Law and order in his lands are a must, this seems to include protecting the kenderlands and fostering a good relationship with the elves. A house that can't keep its affairs in order runs the risk of total annihilation, even a noble house. Agents are known to literally come in the night and exterminate entire families, never to be spoken of again. A true dictatorship.
DRELIN : geography (for full history and geography see setting thread)
Local Overview
Country: Lichstone (capital city - Lichstone City)
Annexed Territory: South-Central Drelin aka SCD (capital city New Gotham)
Ruled by his eternal highness the Lichking. His lands are broken into baronies ruled by nobles.
Lichstone- The 'olde monarchy'. Ruled by the same family for thousands of years. Twisting cobblestone streets with tightly packed similarly colored buildings line a mountainside of this ancient capital-city. Olive trees, dates, citrus orchards and wine vines fills Lichstone's countryside. Held within high mountains, the unforgiving oceanside cliffs on one side making Lichstone safe from invaders.(7-8 o'clock orientation~Drelin is a circular continent)
A mixture of ravenloft and Rome. The capital city Lichstone City sits atop south facing seaside cliffs, it is crowned by a grand gothic castle. "The Olde Monarchy" has been ruled by the same family for thousands of years. Cobblestone streets twist around tightly packed monotone buildings that line a mountainside of this ancient capital-city. Villas with olive trees, dates, grapes, and citrus orchards fills Lichstone's countryside. Old structures fill the city as old traditions rule the land. The 'true gods' have never left favor here as they did for most of Drelin during the Time of the Dragon Gods, and a thoroughly polytheistic society has developed. The many temples and shrines in Lichstone are dedicated to a multitude of gods and it's people are suspicious as well as superstitious. Unlike on most parts of Drelin, undead are abundant within Lichstone, making a populace dependent on the Legion and nobles. Graveyards and mausoleums are as common as barns on Lichstonian farmland. Always a step ahead of menacing mists that plague the area, gypsies roam the countryside in small caravans selling their bizarre style of magical protection and entertainment.
A crumbling wall marks most of it's northern and eastern boarder, most outsiders don't pass this boarder. East Lichstone is orchard land sloping downward to the kenderlands; wetlands and flooded lowlands that support isolated fishing villages. West Lichstone is dry and sparsely populated, the broken lands lie beyond. The northern boarder is shared with Tendron, the southern of two western Drelin kingdoms. Tendron shares a large lake with rival Drelmore west of the Forever Forrest. West of those kingdoms is the broken lands till the shore. The land is dry and doesn't take to seed all the way to the coast.
Lichstone's banner is a grey skull with gold crown on a field of pink. Grey-pink-grey. The darker the pink/red the higher the position. The lichking is adorned crown to boney toe in blood red and crimsons, where a page might sport a bubblegum kerchief.
New Gotham- A metropolitan, gothic settlement with gnomepunk overtones. The TMNT live in the Underworks of New Gotham having a patent on pizza, a tortle must own and animorphs must work at all establishments that serve tomato based sauce served on dough with cheese. Bruce Wayne, formerly from Lichstone, resides in New Gotham. New Gotham is Lichstone's second biggest city besides the capital.
Over two centuries ago the Gellentara family (known for it's vampiric bloodline) was granted a dismal task of leaving Lichstone proper to construct and then fill a penitentiary with trouble makers heading in from the Outlands and Wastelands, and with the thieves and beggars from the kingdoms of the Western Heartlands. The new castle and penitentiary was built with the help those 'criminals' who the Gellentara rounded up offering a new life in the surrounding lands tending orchards and mining coal. Mistberries flourished in the volcanic rich soil and with help abundant, the 'incarceration castle' took on new shape. Gnomish refugees settled New Gotham as did the curious kender in South-Central Drelin. Pleased with the progress, the lich king provided a second round of funding which added temples and fortifications with many more Lichstonian families to work as soldiers and clergy.
A lucrative trade partnership began between the dark city and elves. First, the elves of the Forever Forest trade for the mistberry wine, partly with their servitor race - anamorphic animals. The creatures would work off their 'payment' and then they would be free. This eventually led to an uprising which freed the animorphs (tortles, raven folk, rabbit folk, salamander people and rat folk) from elven oppression. Many animorphs never left and now reside in New Gotham. Later, a trade route is established with the pearl rich sea elves who love the citrus and mistberry wine New Gotham has become famous for.
The bustling metropolis is constructed of blackstone, wood and metals. An entrance to Lichstone, New Gotham is situated at the very end of the infamous and crumbling 'Lichstonian wall', where unpredictable mists play havoc on travelers. It rains a fair amount and the dark city is usually blanketed in fog. It is generally warm and muggy. To the immediate north are lava fields, then, the forests begin before reaching an enormous volcano surrounded by fey and elven forests… aka the Forever Forest. A clockwork bridge spans the River Merzy, which splits the city in two, then, flows south into orchards and wetlands below. These vast wetlands are inhabited mostly by kender under the protection of Lichstone. The swamplands are situated ominously southeast of New Gotham, an extensive wetland with rivers and mangroves dominated by warring tribes of bullywog and opportunistic troll bands.
New Gotham's banner is light pink over dark gray. Its flag is a pink background with dark gray bridge over river.
City Sections : Penitentiary quarter with Arkum Asylum, the canals, riverside with clockwork bridge, temple district, the high district, "New Castle" and mausoleums, the underworks.
Lichstone utilizes undead workers. This has allowed the wealthy to maintain their status while simultaneously lessening the hardships of the lower class. No one in Lichstone goes hungry. Being a farmer in Lichstone is a lot more comfortable than being an indentured farmer from the Western Heartland (to the north of Lichstone).
The mists of Lichstone are nearly constant fogs that creep over the stonewall that runs along the northern border ending at New Gotham. The fog can appear greenish when thick and seems to confuse those wondering through at best and at worst the mists can disappear people without a trace. It is said that just as some creatures walk into the mists and don't return, some do return with having aged many years. The stonewall and accompanying mists have worked historically as immigration deterrence.
Mistberry Wine - a pink wine made from pink berries that grow with little sunlight and abundant fog (rumors say kender druids are responsible for the ability of the mistberries to thrive in a clouded area). The sweet wine is "lighter" than ubiquitous elven reds, and can be processed into a sparkling wine or a potent ice wine. There are private gardens within the city, volcanic rich fields north of New Gotham make the finest vintage and 'orchard lands' supply the bulk. These hilly parts of South-Central Drelin are occupied and worked by kender under the protection of Lichstone. Mistberry processing occurs in factories within the darkstone walls of New Gotham. The majority of mist berry wine is exported to the elves both from the fey forest and the sea.
Images of New Gotham
Town center where the temple and high districts meet. https://www.reddit.com/media?url=https%3A%2F%2Fi.redd.it%2Finnsdawhwmr81.jpg&rdt=46877
Penitentiary quarter with Arkum Asylum in the background https://i.pinimg.com/originals/c8/df/0d/c8df0d28db61cafd0dfafc6b0aab4e63.jpg
South-Central Drelin- Under the authority and protection of Lichstone, SCD is dominated by New Gotham and orchards in the north. Many fishing villages (Innsmouth) thrive amongst mangroves, swamps, and marshes. Further south, floodplains give way to the salt marshes. Kenders are commonplace throughout the southland, whereas the secretive sea elves inhabit the spongy, soft coral coast. The eastern portion of SCD is dangerous swamplands.
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