dascarletm
2015-10-12, 06:11 PM
Hello playgrounders,
I think I'll set out to chronicle the game I've been running this year with two of my players. It's a long game, and I plan to go all the way to 20 and above. As of writing the first post they have already reached level 11, so I'll do a large re-cap of what has happened thus-far. Before that though, I'll give details on the world.
Irah
Most everything can be found on my obsidian portal (https://irah.obsidianportal.com/) page for the game, but I'll put up the important stuff here.
The World:
Continents
The game gets it's title from the largest continent in the known world. This continent is flanked by a few smaller continents. Here is the list.
Irah is largely dominated by Humans, but has many other races and monsters in it. Notably, dwarves, many varieties of giants, and a few sub-species of orc. Depending on where you are in the continent you'll find different topographies. From the cold reaches of Ravensgard to the burning hot Mauta Desert the people of Irah are diverse. This is where the campaign is primarily located.
Eros was once the major continent of the known world. Many races (some now extinct) thrived and lived here. It is said their technology surpassed that of anywhere else. However legend states that due to the godless way they lived their lives the people of Eros were punished. Almost all of that landmass was destroyed, and only a large maelstrom remains. Any who enter are never seen again, and attempts to scry in or near it, fail. The people of Eros now live devout lives. A council of all religions meet/reside there.
Alfheim is home to the elves. Non-elves are not permitted to enter, save the southernmost port. Even then non-elves may only go certain places and are watched heavily. The elves are isolationist. They live in a caste system that outsiders know little about save that the wizarding caste is one of the most prestigious.
Jadavi is the southernmost continent and is a large sprawling jungle. Very little is known besides that it is treacherous.
Northmar is the northernmost continent and is the most mysterious. Due to the dangerous nature of the waters in the north the full size and scope of the continent is unknown. Only the southernmost tip has been explored. It is a frozen wasteland.
Nations/Organizations of Irah
There are seven major states in Irah. I'll detail the important ones.
Ravensgard
Ravensgard is run by a king, and many clans similar in structure to those of old Scotland reside in the cold north. All clansmen swear their, "body, mind, and soul" to their clan leaders, who in turn swear the same to the king. They are warlike and it is rumored that the king is mad. They recently agreed to a ceasefire with the Dwarves of Dalgirn to the south.
Dalgirn
The dwarves of Dalgirn similarly to the elves don't let many into their hold. Irah used to be mostly populated by dwarves, but wars with giants and orcs have left all but one major hold remaining. The dwarves fight to protect their last home, and are very untrusting of outsiders.
Twolakes
Twolakes is the center of irah, and the largest city in the known world. They have a very small standing army however, and instead they rely on mercenaries. Twolakes is the richest state in the world, and they know it. "All trade goes through Twolakes," they say. The administration is apparently a senate, but the real power lies in the four large trade guilds based in Twolakes. The administration is extremely lawful and rigid.
Arcanos
Lastly Arcanos is more of a city-state. They only hold one city, Arcanos, which is smaller than most other capitals. However, as their name implies they have a monopoly on all things arcane. In every human land, anyone who has the gift of magic must be sent off to Arcanos, much to the displeasure of these children's mothers. Twolakes and Arcanos have a mutual relationship, and no other nation dares defy them in this regard. If you meet a human spellcaster (non-arcane) they will be beholden to Arcanos above all else.
Game Rules:
I use pathfinder rules, no guns however.
Magic
The world is low magic, and by low I mean rare, yet powerful. I use pathfinder's automatic bonus progression rules. Magic items come in three tiers.
Mastercraft
These items are not technically magic, but just extremely well made items. If there is a magic item that is lower in power and it could be easily re-fluffed as non-magical then it may just be mastercraft. Example:
Helmet(Jingasa) of the Fortunate Soldier: A well constructed helmet that has a tendency to deflect potentially deadly blows.
Elfcraft/Runecraft/Other
Dwarves, Elves, and other magical beings can craft items that hold a certain type of magic. These constitute pretty much any magic item you will find on the PFSRD. Depending on what the item does it will come from a different source. Many powerful ones require special, hard to obtain, reagents.
Magic Items
Magic items are powerful and unique. They always come with a price of some-sort. They are custom built items that I've placed in the game. Example:
Caladbolg: This holy sword can heal wounds and hurt any creature the wielder strikes regardless of DR, regeneration, or the like. However, if the wielder uses the weapon in what it considers "an un-just cause" a terrible fate befalls him/her. Additionally the weapon cannot be gotten rid of until another "worthy" wielder relieves the current wielder.
Casters exist in full power, but are rare among humans.
Some other house-rules are floating around, like Rich's diplomacy fix, but are not particularly important.
I'll post a re-cap of what has happened sometime this week, and if people seem to be interested I'll post more logs as they unfold.
If you want to know more I'll add in the information upon request
I think I'll set out to chronicle the game I've been running this year with two of my players. It's a long game, and I plan to go all the way to 20 and above. As of writing the first post they have already reached level 11, so I'll do a large re-cap of what has happened thus-far. Before that though, I'll give details on the world.
Irah
Most everything can be found on my obsidian portal (https://irah.obsidianportal.com/) page for the game, but I'll put up the important stuff here.
The World:
Continents
The game gets it's title from the largest continent in the known world. This continent is flanked by a few smaller continents. Here is the list.
Irah is largely dominated by Humans, but has many other races and monsters in it. Notably, dwarves, many varieties of giants, and a few sub-species of orc. Depending on where you are in the continent you'll find different topographies. From the cold reaches of Ravensgard to the burning hot Mauta Desert the people of Irah are diverse. This is where the campaign is primarily located.
Eros was once the major continent of the known world. Many races (some now extinct) thrived and lived here. It is said their technology surpassed that of anywhere else. However legend states that due to the godless way they lived their lives the people of Eros were punished. Almost all of that landmass was destroyed, and only a large maelstrom remains. Any who enter are never seen again, and attempts to scry in or near it, fail. The people of Eros now live devout lives. A council of all religions meet/reside there.
Alfheim is home to the elves. Non-elves are not permitted to enter, save the southernmost port. Even then non-elves may only go certain places and are watched heavily. The elves are isolationist. They live in a caste system that outsiders know little about save that the wizarding caste is one of the most prestigious.
Jadavi is the southernmost continent and is a large sprawling jungle. Very little is known besides that it is treacherous.
Northmar is the northernmost continent and is the most mysterious. Due to the dangerous nature of the waters in the north the full size and scope of the continent is unknown. Only the southernmost tip has been explored. It is a frozen wasteland.
Nations/Organizations of Irah
There are seven major states in Irah. I'll detail the important ones.
Ravensgard
Ravensgard is run by a king, and many clans similar in structure to those of old Scotland reside in the cold north. All clansmen swear their, "body, mind, and soul" to their clan leaders, who in turn swear the same to the king. They are warlike and it is rumored that the king is mad. They recently agreed to a ceasefire with the Dwarves of Dalgirn to the south.
Dalgirn
The dwarves of Dalgirn similarly to the elves don't let many into their hold. Irah used to be mostly populated by dwarves, but wars with giants and orcs have left all but one major hold remaining. The dwarves fight to protect their last home, and are very untrusting of outsiders.
Twolakes
Twolakes is the center of irah, and the largest city in the known world. They have a very small standing army however, and instead they rely on mercenaries. Twolakes is the richest state in the world, and they know it. "All trade goes through Twolakes," they say. The administration is apparently a senate, but the real power lies in the four large trade guilds based in Twolakes. The administration is extremely lawful and rigid.
Arcanos
Lastly Arcanos is more of a city-state. They only hold one city, Arcanos, which is smaller than most other capitals. However, as their name implies they have a monopoly on all things arcane. In every human land, anyone who has the gift of magic must be sent off to Arcanos, much to the displeasure of these children's mothers. Twolakes and Arcanos have a mutual relationship, and no other nation dares defy them in this regard. If you meet a human spellcaster (non-arcane) they will be beholden to Arcanos above all else.
Game Rules:
I use pathfinder rules, no guns however.
Magic
The world is low magic, and by low I mean rare, yet powerful. I use pathfinder's automatic bonus progression rules. Magic items come in three tiers.
Mastercraft
These items are not technically magic, but just extremely well made items. If there is a magic item that is lower in power and it could be easily re-fluffed as non-magical then it may just be mastercraft. Example:
Helmet(Jingasa) of the Fortunate Soldier: A well constructed helmet that has a tendency to deflect potentially deadly blows.
Elfcraft/Runecraft/Other
Dwarves, Elves, and other magical beings can craft items that hold a certain type of magic. These constitute pretty much any magic item you will find on the PFSRD. Depending on what the item does it will come from a different source. Many powerful ones require special, hard to obtain, reagents.
Magic Items
Magic items are powerful and unique. They always come with a price of some-sort. They are custom built items that I've placed in the game. Example:
Caladbolg: This holy sword can heal wounds and hurt any creature the wielder strikes regardless of DR, regeneration, or the like. However, if the wielder uses the weapon in what it considers "an un-just cause" a terrible fate befalls him/her. Additionally the weapon cannot be gotten rid of until another "worthy" wielder relieves the current wielder.
Casters exist in full power, but are rare among humans.
Some other house-rules are floating around, like Rich's diplomacy fix, but are not particularly important.
I'll post a re-cap of what has happened sometime this week, and if people seem to be interested I'll post more logs as they unfold.
If you want to know more I'll add in the information upon request