Starting Locations

Here is the color text I sent to my players for my new campaign: Blood, Gold, and Lizards

New Zwicke

Welcome to the County Palatinate of New Zwicke!  Count Arman, Colonial Governor of the Lustrian Colonies, bids you welcome.  Please mind the laws and do NOT bring any trouble back to town and things will be most agreeable for you here.  Appointments to meet with members of the government are taken Mondays and Tuesdays, actual meetings happen on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, executions are scheduled for Thursdays (in Justice Square), and legal proceedings start on Fridays.

Every full moon there is a Sanctioned Auction.  Everyone may attend and bid at the auction, but only licensed sellers may submit items for the auction.  Licensed sellers include members of the Hansa League, legal representatives of all registered guilds, and members of registered adventuring companies.  Please be aware that bidding at the auction and then failing to honor your bid is a crime with penalties including the confiscation of goods and property equal to the defaulted bid, plus 20%, and the colonial government claims the item bid on.

Members of registered adventuring companies are permitted access to [the adventurer’s quarter] where several fine establishments will meet their needs.  Please see the Adventurer’s Ombudsman’s Office for details of taxes and fees due to the colonial government by registered companies.

Once again, thank you for joining the Lustrian Colonies.  Now please move along before I have the guards remove you.

Lucan's Clock

Howza, mates!  Welcome to Lucan’s Clock, official colony of the Republic of Sartosa in these parts.  Mind the Code and deal with your own problems and things’ll go well for ya.  We don’t stand on fancy laws or drinkin’ with our pinkies out like that lot on Majica.  Anything you want to do that doesn’t leave a dead body is fair game, but that won’t protect you from angry reprisals, so watch it.

Commodore Baldomero Teobaldo Espina, Captain of The Foul Wolf of the West, is in charge of The Clock.  (That’s what we call Lucan’s Clock around here.)  The Commodore will see you if he wants, but you might get a word in edge-wise if you try talking to him when he’s at a saloon.  Or you might get shot.  Could go either way.

Every new moon there is a swap meet here at the square.  It’s not as fancy or boring as that auction over in New Zwicke, but you’d be surprised what things you can find at the swap.  Very surprised.  Be ready to haggle and deal or you might just find yourself in possession of a lead bird instead of the ancient heirloom you was thought you was tradin’ for.

One other thing.  It’s a hard scrabble to make do here, so expect to pay a pretty penny for the nice stuff.  You can get the cheap stuff, but it might turn on ya as you get what you pay for.

Now if you’ll excuse me, there’s a saloon nearby that has a drink with my name on it and wench or two to I aim to bed.

"...She Could Only Answer in Tongues."

[This is the character background for Sarisvati The Suntouched, the cohort of my PC's cohort in The Aldelle Group game.  I meant to write this up back when I wrote the backgrounds for Harkaitz and Aziz, but never got back to it until now in direct response to a request for it.]

Sarisvati was born into a family not expecting her.  It is assumed that her mother could not explain why her daughter had hair of flames and golden eyes and not the black hair and dark eyes of the village.  Shortly after her birth she was abandoned at a local temple of Surya, god of the Sun.  The priest who found her, Sarat, recognized a sign from Surya when he saw it.  The child was taken in and named “Little Fire Hair”.

“Little Fire Hair” was raised in the temple and took to the life there quickly.  When she reached five years of age she started training at the temple.  She learned quickly and when she was eight, she was given the name Sarisvati, after the goddess of knowledge.  There was some talk of sending her to the temple of Sarisvati for training.  Unfortunately, the one time she was sent to the temple of Sarisvati to see how she took to the training there, she kept accidentally setting things on fire with her hands.  She was quickly returned to the temple of Surya, where she stayed.

As she grew, it was noticed she had a knack of being exactly where she was needed, when she was needed, even if she was supposed to be somewhere else.  Sometimes she was found in places she should not have been and as a result received punishment – punishment that was moderated by the actual need for her to be there at that time. 

The first time this happened was in the temple’s inner sanctum during a high ceremony.  A rakshasa had infiltrated the temple, intent upon assassinating Sarat (who was now the High Priest) during the ceremony.  Just as the rakshasa was moving to attack, Sarisvati stepped out of a hiding place, hands aflame, yelling a warning in a language few knew [Ignan], despite her desire to speak normally.  The rakshasa, surprised and no longer with the element of surprise, fled from this fiery temple defender, thinking her much more powerful than she was.  After the rakshasa had fled and the ceremony was over, Sarisvati found she could once again speak normally.  After being forced to write out “I will not hide in the sanctum during a ceremony I am not supposed to attend” 1000 times, she was praised for bravery and the use of holy flame in defense of the temple.  When asked why she happened to be there, she could only answer in tongues.

While most of the young women in the area her age were already married by the time she turned 16, Sarisvati kept her independence – few men wanted a wife with flames for hair and those seeking some sort of social leverage by marrying a child of the temple were convinced to look elsewhere when Sarisvati lit her hands on fire.  While admonished by Sarat, whom she considered her father and he her as his daughter, she was admonished lightly.  When he asked her why she kept frightening off her suitors, she could only answer in tongues.

When Sarisvati turned 18, she knew the lands around her home temple well and was known in them.  She started to explore further and further, looking for something she could not quite vocalize.  With the blessing of Sarat, she followed the setting sun, eventually arriving at a caravansary on the fringe of the lands she knew.  There she talked with traders from lands farther to the west, including a traveling priest of Ra, Salah of the Burning Valley.  The priest’s holy symbol called to Sarisvati, almost literally, and when allowed to hold it, she was lost in a vision of flames for an unknown period of time.

When Sarisvati came to herself again, everyone in the caravansary but Salah had fled her vicinity.  He told her she had started speaking in tongues and her skin had turned molten, glowing with a fierce inner heat for the last hour.  This had frightened the other travelers and they fled to other parts of the caravansary while he waited.  Sarisvati asked Salah why he had not fled and he answered, “Ra protects from flame those who serve the sun.”  After talking the rest of the day and through the night about Ra and his worship, Sarisvati decided she must travel further west to the lands of Ra.  When asked why, she could only answer in tongues.

Sarisvati travelled generally west for several years, digressing from her path when moved by the flames or a feeling.  She occasionally met with Salah when their paths crossed (he often traversed the lands east of the Uskar Desert) and the two shared what they had seen and learned.  The last time this occurred Sarisvati was 22 and she received another vision.  This time she saw the sun eclipsed and a shadow drown the fires in her vision.  When she came to herself again, she knew she had to travel far to the west and amongst elves to find a person.  When Salah asked who she was looking for, she could only answer in tongues.

After a year of travel (and occasional adventure) she found herself in Ttaeladra, a city of elves, where she found a human paladin in the service of Ra, Aziz of the Light, and recognized him from her vision.  She approached him and stated she would help him.  When Aziz asked why, she could only answer in tongues.

The Aldelle Group – Backgrounds 2: Aziz of the Light

Aziz of the Light

Paladin of Ra
(18 years old, 6’ 0”, brown eyes, black hair, tan skin)

Aziz was born in a river village in the desert. He was born with a birthmark on his right arm in the shape of the Eye of Ra, marking him for the god’s service. Lacking the aptitude to become a priest, Aziz was placed in with the temple’s defenders. Here he excelled.

After a few years of training, Aziz became a candidate for paladinhood and started training with the other hopefuls. Becoming a paladin of Ra requires a balance of personable and militant skills, a balance that Aziz was able to achieve. Aziz favored the quick fighting style of the dervish to the brute force of the northern knights and pursued a mobile fighting style.

After completing his training and being ordained a paladin, Aziz travelled from town to village, assisting those in need. During this time Aziz defended a town from the predations of a blue dragon, slaying the beast. To show their gratitude, the village armorers and leather workers combined their talents, crating a suite of banded armor and a heavy shield out of the hide of the dragon. This is a treasured possession of Aziz’s now, reminding him of the people he steps into harm’s way for - common tradespeople and villagers with no other defenders.

After returning to the temple he was stationed to, the temple oracle prophesied that Aziz was to travel far to the north, find “the man with a soul of fire”, and assist him. This was an unusual prophecy, but Aziz was a servant to Ra and made his preparations to travel and then set out.

The grassy plains north of the desert were a strange place for Aziz. At each village he came to he inquired about “the man with a soul of fire” but no one knew who he was speaking of. Eventually Aziz came to Terranor, capital of the human kingdom north of the desert. There he found a temple to Ra and asked again about “the man with a soul of fire”. Here the High Priest’s eyes opened with recognition and requested Aziz stay at the temple for a few days as he knew of a person who might match Aziz’s request. Two days later Aziz met Harkaitz of the Red Soul and the two were instant friends, having many childhood experiences in common and similar outlooks on life.

Game Stats:
Human, male, Paladin 7, divine bond
STR: 15, DEX: 13, CON: 14, INT: 10, WIS: 12, CHA: 16

Traits: armor expert and birthmark

Feats: dodge, leadership, mobility, spring attack, step up

The Aldelle Group – Backgrounds 1: Harkaitz of the Red Soul

This series of postings will contain character backgrounds and some basic build information. My goal is to provide enough background for you to get an idea of the character, but not go so far that it becomes a wank. Please let me know how I do. If there is enough interest, I’ll interview the other players about their characters and provide their backgrounds as well.

Harkaitz of the Red Soul
Priest of Ra
(18 years old, 5’ 9”, green eyes, red hair, tan skin)

Harkaitz was born in a small town on the fringes of the Great Desert. He had dark hair and eyes like all the children in his village and showed a talent for organizing the other children in games. A local priest noticed his talents and sponsored Harkaitz into the temple. When first consecrated to the temple as an initiate, Harkaitz’s eyes turned emerald green, the same color as the emerald eyes of the statue of Ra in the temple sanctuary.

Due to his talents at leading and his obvious calling by Ra, Harkaitz started training to be a paladin of Ra. This lasted several years until Harkaitz’s more scholarly inclinations and talents manifested. After some discussion and a few divinations, Harkaitz was shifted to priestly training. When Harkaitz was first ordained as a novitiate, his hair turned a deep red, the color favored by Ra. This is when Harkaitz was given the sobriquet “of the Red Soul”.

While training to be a priest of Ra, Harkaitz still maintained his friendships amongst the paladin hopefuls, sparring with them when he could and comparing training notes. Harkaitz often volunteered for vigil duty and wore his armor often, making him more comfortable and easy in his armor than other novitiates.

When his training was finished, Harkaitz was sent north as the divinations indicated this is where he would be needed but little else. Harkaitz eventually found himself in the island village of Aldelle, where he made the acquaintances of Wednesday, an elven trap specialist, and Frankie Hu, a dwarven monk, just as The Goblin Troubles were starting.

As a result of his upbringing, Harkaitz is a bit atypical as a priest. His early paladin training has left him with a willingness to stand in the way of harm to protect others and a confidence bordering on recklessness. He also has a ready supply of tactical advice for his companions, although he does try to rein that in as they have their own styles of combat, different from his. His priestly training has granted him a diplomatic nature and he is regularly the group spokesman.

Game Stats:
Human, male, Cleric 9, Sun and Fire domains
STR: 16, DEX: 14, CON: 10, INT: 11, WIS: 17, CHA: 14

Traits: armor expert and natural-born leader

Feats: forge ring, leadership, point blank shot, precise shot, rapid reload: light crossbow, selective channeling