Bleak 2010-11

"Gather 'round young ones, for now you have come of age to hear the history of our people. Many call these stories Myth, others more accurately Legends, but in truth it is history. Few remember these times, for few then knew how to write and many have wished to forget. But the glory and sacrifices of these noble warriors is not to be forgot. We must tell and retell these stories 'til Mortho comes for us."

Bleak is a world ravaged by primordial energies and insatiable living nightmares. So terrible are the endless monstrosities, so complete is the destruction unleashed by the elements, so low is your chance of survival, that the inhabitant have named the world after their prospects. Only the iconic Shards of Grace, pieces of the World Seal , hold the untamed storms at bay from the last few anchors of civilization. Away from these few bastions of safety the only chance for survival in groups is to remain small and unnoticed or nomadic.

It is in this situation that the heroes of our legend found themselves. This campaign is that legend. You will not all survive, you will not win every fight, you will learn fear and caution. But for every setback there is a triumph, for every battle lost ten will be won. For every comrade fallen another shall take hir place. Hopefully, the story of this Campaign is that of the heroes, and not the footnote in the history books about that group who didn't save the world.

Feel of the Campaign
Bleak is a harsh and unforgiving world. The landscape and weather is itself enough to quash the life out of most who would start their adventures, add to that the unforgiving beasts and terrors and you end up with a low survival rate. The campaign will begin in Tonis, and your characters should be natives of the island. Magic items and treasure will be quite rare; there are after all few items to find and few people value gold when food is more scarce. Your characters will keep up with the power curve by receiving innate bonuses to attack and defense. Magic item abilities will tend more toward "cool" and less toward "damaging."

Character advancement in terms of stats and numbers is an abstraction of the story-level of power. So you might fight a solo-bandit lord who's a hard encounter at 10th level, and the same person then might be an elite at 15th level, and then a regular (non-minion) at 20th level. Character advancement is fun, but Bleak is a tough place and your prospects are always dim, so your power won't scale story-wise in proportion to your stats.

The plan is for characters to level as the campaign progresses, starting at around 11th/12th level. The initial story arc will take place entirely within the paragon tier. If people like the setting or characters then of course things can continue from there.

Character Creation Guidelines See the link above for information about creating your character.

 House Rules 

(This list applies to the campaign and character creation. Click the hyperlink above to see HR regarding rules and rule interactions [not yet implemented].)

Legend Tokens- The heroes of great legend were not halted in their tracks because they forgot to bring a lantern, or a hundred yards of rope, or because they forgot to change clothes before going to the king's reception. A legend token can be spent when the party realizes "I really should have done/bought that," or to make alterations to a scene (that make sense/are within reason.) Maybe the party finds themselves in the middle of an ambush without an escape, or on the wrong side of a stone wall. "Look an opening!" or "Look, a tree by the wall we can climb!" Not something like, "The dragon attacks," to which the Legend Token is tossed down with the cry, "But it's a parapalegic dragon, ha ha!" The party will receive 1 Legend Token sometime between extended rests and story-arc completions. The group can never have more than one, so spend them!

Background Rewards- We want to know what your character did before they joined the party. If you write a background story about your character (more than a couple sentences please!) you may receive bonus possessions based on that background. Baron of a stretch of desert land? Have a small keep! Famed horseback-warrior? Have a noble steed! Inheritor of a grand artifact? Have a sinking feeling that you asked for too much! You get the idea. Generally, things that don't come with you (buildings, land) are going to be bigger and grander than things you can take with you (a mount, a good luck charm, a signet ring, etc.). Be creative! More interesting (and reasonable) backgrounds are always better. And of course, we do expect your background to match your character as described by their abilities and feats, as applicable.

Hold the Cheese, Please- I don't think we typically have a problem with this, but just keep it in mind that everyone has more fun if each character's power level is similar to the other characters. No one likes being left behind!

Guest DMing- I'd like to implement a system of Guest DMs whereby players can take the reigns for a one-shot using the party to get anyone who would like more involved in creating the world and story. If you would like to guest DM but need some help, just ask! There may be rewards of some kind for the characters of players who would like to Guest DM, depending on how many and how often people would like to do it. (Maybe once a month or so would be nice).

Geography

Geists