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View Full Version : [campaign] The Fallen City (just fluff ATM)



NEO|Phyte
2006-09-25, 11:39 PM
I've had this world/campaign idea bouncing around my head for ages. Only very recently have I actually started trying to make it more than idle thoughts. Assuming I don't get sidetracked more than I already have, expect more stuff to come.

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Many centuries ago, the world was a different place. There were no great Cities, and magic wasn't as pervasive as it is today. Humans, Elves, Dwarves, and all of the other 'civilized' races lived their lives in crude settlements, raising whatever food suited their lifestyle best, and fighting off raiding goblins. They sent out groups to hunt down the source of the goblins, but all they ever found was small camps.

Finally, during a year with particularly heavy goblin activity, a group of settlements decided to do something about it once and for all. Over the course of 4 months, they communicated amongst themselves, coordinating a grave undertaking. They selected a handful of their most powerful fellows, brought them together in a single settlement, and trained them to work together as a self-sustaining team. Then, on the first morning of the fifth month, they were cast out of the settlement, and told not to return until the source of the goblins was dealt with. Many bitter tears were shed that day as the group left.

Although they were successful in their quest and returned alive, very little is known of what the group encountered on their journey, as they never told a soul. The only things they were known to have talked about was their encounter with the Goblin Mother, a bloated monstrosity that gave birth to goblins at a near-constant rate, and a few enigmatic comments about some "Chamber". They rested for a few days, enjoying their Hero status, and then left again, apparently to further investigate the Chamber that they found. A week later, they returned. With the chamber.

The chambers are some kind of powerful Artifacts, that much is certain. They are capable of infusing people with raw magic, enhancing their abilities to beyond that of normal beings, and giving them seemingly endless lifespans. Their influence is such that simply being in the general area of one enhances the innate magical ability that everyone possesses, allowing us to use with a mere gesture the cantrips that wizards needed to spend years to master. There are also rumors that the chambers can unlock previously unknown abilities in a person. How they do all of this is a mystery, possibly even to those that even now float overhead within it.

Regardless of how they function, those chambers were the catalyst for a major change in our lifestyle. The magicks of that chamber brought forth the first of the Great Cities. In honor of the settlement that came up with the idea to send out an adventuring party to deal with the goblins, it was named New Fiit.

Life within the Cities is a life without needs. The magic of the chambers is able to provide all of the basic essentials of living, although it is rather bland. For this reason, many settlements still exist, in order to add some variety to what the Cities provide. Those that have been chosen to maintain the chambers are regarded by the people as the leaders of that particular city, and they have all been kind, just rulers. All they have asked of the people is that they not simply sit around enjoying their lives; that they work to improve upon their talents, so that should anything come with hostile intentions, they will be ready.

There have been quite a few notable attempts over the decades to assault one of the Cities, but none have succeeded. Although there was a few instances of goblin wartribes attempting to take over a City, most of the attacks were made by various chromatic dragons. Some realized the attempt was futile and retreated, some died trying. One dragon, a Great Red, actually went after a City's chamber. As it reached out to grasp the outer shell of the chamber, a massive beam of energy shot out from it, striking the dragon square on the chest. There was a flash of light that could be seen for miles, and all there was left of the dragon was a light scattering of dust.

But all that is irrelevant right now. Something major is happening, and nobody knows what. There are plenty of rumors, but the only thing that is known for certain is that all contact with one of the Cities has been lost. The initial indication of this came from the Central Hub, when it was discovered that one of the Teleportation Circles ceased functioning. Since this discovery, there has been a flurry of activity to and from the chamber. Messengers are seen telling people that they are to gather the equipment they will need to travel and be at the Central Hub at Noon. You are one of these people.

NEO|Phyte
2006-09-25, 11:39 PM
[reserved for crunch]