The Circle of Orin

The Circle of Orin is an adventuring company in the city of Nandel, capital of Nendalem. They own a villa in the city, and also operate a small dry goods import business. The Circle earned its adventuring license from the queen by defeating a bandit lord on the eastern border of Nendalem.

The original (first generation) members of the Circle are:

• Haroran: ranger (and leader); missing
• Shaw: wizard; killed in the attack prior to Session 1
• Aldred: fighter; missing
• Navien: warlord; missing

The PCs are the second generation, students and apprentices of the original members.

Berrian

Eladrin Assassin

Wultgar

[Deceased: Ate Kruthik Eggs]

Human fighter

Wultgar was a simple labourer in Nendalem from youth into his middle years, who spent his days carrying heavy loads, drinking, brawling, and gambling. Inborn stupidity and a low income eventually left him with unsettlably large debts to some unpleasant people. Given a choice between a certain death at their hands or a probable death at the hands of another indentured debtor in pit fights, he chose the latter (a seven year contract) and discovered he had a knack for it. Within a year he had a reputation and an unusual signature fighting style - whip and gauntlet. Being good at something led to some reflection on his life, a renewed appetite for it, and at length a desire to do something of value. His opportunity arrived when one Haroran's men witnessed him fight and suspected he was destined for something better. Haroran was eventually persuaded to agree, bought out Wultgar's indenture, and set about re-civilizing him.

Now Wultgar keeps his impulses in check with frequent prayers to Erathis, and uses his skill at violence to protect his compatriots in the Circle of Orin. Although Haroran legally owns him for several more years, his loyalty goes well beyond his indenture now, and he is happy to serve the Circle. He knows that he lacks the wit to make any big decisions or navigate complex situations, and is content instead to take the role of bodyguard for the people who are better at those things.

Wultgar's earlier years of outdoor labour have left him with very dark, leathery skin almost indistinguishable from the thick leather cuirass he usually wears. He is tall, sinewy, bald, and tough as nails.

Stats

Vira

Elf cleric of Ioun.

Vira was found as a young child wandering around outside the city and taken in by a human family.

She had escaped the massacre of her family and their traveling group and the only thing found on her was a symbol of the god Vecna.

Session 1: The Circle of Orin Attacked, Meeting the Queen, The House of Five Blades

The PCs began the game out on an errand for the Circle of Orin. In addition to performing mercenary and adventuring services, the Circle also runs a minor wholesale importing business (originally owned by Navien, the Warlord member of the circle). The errand was to pick up some goods from a Riticorian merchant lord named Sark, whom the Circle has dealt with before. Unfortunately, the shipment had been delayed by unknown factors, something uncommon but not unheard of, and the PCs needed to return empty-handed to the Circle house, a villa in the southern (mercantile) district of Nendalem, built on the river.

When they came back to the house after being gone all day, they found a messenger from Queen Amavere along with two men-at-arms waiting outside. The messenger was there to see Haroran, the ranger and leader of the Circle. The messenger had been knocking on the door, but no one had answered, an odd occurrence particularly because the circle employs several servants. The PCs entered and found the interior ransacked, and several smallish humanoid corpses strewn around the vestibule. The PCs were not able to identify the exact race. After a few steps, the PCs came under attack by several more (live) humanoids of a similar origin and appearance, armed with high-quality long guns and professional-grade armor. The humanoids were accompanied by a tall man in a heavy brown cloak with a face concealed by a scarf. He fled the scene while the PCs were engaged defeating the humanoids, but it was noticed that he had a heavy greatsword strapped to his back, and used some sort of magic. He threw one of his daggers at the PCs during his escape. He left by the dock at the back of the house, and either stole or destroyed all the small boats normally docked there.

After the short battle, the PCs searched the villa, which had been thoroughly ransacked. Almost all of the pots and bottles of wine in the wine cellar had been smashed, though much of the dry goods storage was still in acceptable condition, though it had been thrown about. The mage Shaw, a first-generation member of the Circle, was found dead in the basement as well. The main office of the adventuring company had been violently torn apart, and huge gashes and score marks were found on the heavy stone walls. Much of the valuables (including the contents of a safe) were gone. After thoroughly searching the office though, the PCs located a secret door, which led to a small storage room which the intruders had been unable (it seems) to locate. The shelves of the secret room were mostly empty, though there were five items, of obvious importance to the Circle due to how they were carefully stored, which the PCs took. The five items are:

• Book, heavy leather-bound tome written in Elven, appears to be a retelling of myths
• Spyglass, leather decorated with silver and gold
• Necklace of dark red jewels joined my engraved steel tubes
• Helm, winged, made of high quality steel and decorated
• Knife, no hilt, ornamental but well balanced

They returned with the messenger to the Queen's palace (a small but opulent collection of buildings deep within the royal grounds). On the way to the palace, they left Shaw's body at a temple, hoping that the clerics would be able to call his soul back. The Queen had a task for Haroran, but settled for the PCs (the Circle had done missions for the realm before). She had a sensitive message which needed to be delivered to someone outside of Nendalem, and the task could not be done by an official messenger. While in the audience chamber of the Queen, they saw the same man that had been at their villa, though dressed in a fancier cloak, and learned that his name was Colter the Blade and that he was a member of another chartered adventuring company in the city called The House of Five Blades. The PCs accused Colter of invading their property in front of the queen, but it was just their word against Colter's, and the queen had used the services of the Five Blades in the past, so she left the adventurers to work out their differences themselves for the time being, assuming of course that it did not get in the way of the Realm's business.

The session ended with the PCs tentatively deciding to take up the Queen's task before searching for the missing Haroran.

Startup & Setting

Introduction

I borrow liberally from other fantasy settings and history and don’t claim originality for anything. I can’t give credit for everything that has influenced me, but I’m sure if you are familiar you will notice the influence of the Dragonlance and Dark Sun settings as well as uncountable other novels, stories, and video games (Final Fantasy is another big influence). We can work together to adjust the setting to accommodate whatever style of play the group desires. I hope this is enough information to begin to think about your character.

Character Creation

Your character is a member of the Circle of Orin, an adventuring company. Adventuring companies, in the city-state of Nendalem where you will begin, are semi-private organizations which are part mercenary firm and part civic militia. Such companies, to operate legally, must have a royal charter, usually granted for some service to the realm, much like a knighthood. Orin is a relatively young company, and as such has only two “generations” so far, the founding generation (led by Haroran, a human ranger) and your characters. Orin’s service to the realm was the capture of a particulary odious bandit lord who was encroaching on the eastern border of Nendalem and extracting road tolls (taxation is a prerogative of the Queen). As part of your background story, you must figure out why Haroran chose (saved? recruited?) your character, and what personal debt you have to him.

Since adventuring companies often serve as a home for outcasts, you are not limited to human characters, though Nendalem is a human kingdom. If uncertain, I would recommend selecting one of the classic Dungeons & Dragons races (human, elf, half-elf, dwarf) and classes (fighter, rogue, cleric, wizard). Please no dragonborn, they annoy me. Races and classes from other source books may be appropriate as well, but please consult with me, so that I can think about how your character will fit into the setting.

Metagaming

Though it is sometimes unrealistic, I require that the party stay together and make decisions as a group. Alternating between multiple subgroups during a session is neither time efficient nor fun for the players not currently active. Fighting between player characters is also not allowed.

Style

Campaign style varies between high-fantasy in the wilder lands to Prussian splendor in the cities. Firearms exist for flavor, follow the rules for crossbows, and can be used by any classes that can use simple ranged weapons (pistols are as hand crossbows, rifles are as crossbows). Other firearms exist, but are not common.

Conventions

Wanted board: Every city or town of even moderate size has a “wanted board” where local authorities and private citizens post post bills for services desired. Major criminals usually have rewards posted, as do merchants who need bodyguards and other services for hire. The wanted board can be a good source of discretionary quests and news.

History & Setting

Ages ago, fueled by destructive magic, war reduced many lands to ash and desert. People turned against the wizards and it became unsafe to become a magic user. The great wizards, seeing the danger to their art, formed a council and decreed that any wizard beyond the rank of apprentice would need to follow the laws of wizardry, the first of which was that magic was not to be used in the service of war. Though inexact, this convention has largely prevented the large scale magical devastation of the past wars, and over time magic has receded to the edges of society. The archmage, the highest ranking wizard on the council, primus inter pares, has served as the arbiter of magical law until the post went vacant during the rise of Anjaeral.

150 years ago an unknown elven commander named Anjaeral arose in the deep forest. Expelled by the elves for fomenting discord and strife, he gathered to himself an elite group of warriors and set about to conquer the known lands, previously hopelessly divided. Anjaeral’s empire is more of a loose confederation of tribute states which submit to having Imperial Garrisons stationed on their lands and pay taxes, but otherwise are left mostly to govern themselves. Styling himself as “The Lord of Peace” Anjaeral has also flouted the conventions against war magic, calling his mages servants of peace and putting them at the disposal of the high council of wizards to hunt down rebel sorcerers and compel them to submit to the laws of magic. Though Anjaeral’s soldiers do not openly use destructive magic, wizards do wear his standards and unsubstantiated tales circulate of great destructive magics being used once again on the field of battle. Anjaeral, being a young elf-lord, is expected to reign for hundreds if not thousands of years, assuming he is not defeated on the field of battle. This is a new experience for the world, as elves have not in the past overcome their sylvan natures to become rulers outside of their forests.

Anjaeral’s capital, however, is far away. Your story begins in the Kingdom of Nendalem, a small but populous human realm. The unruled lands of Urndach separate the kingdom of Nendalem in the West from the Principalities of Seath in the East. Both of these states are imperial tributaries and host Imperial Garrisons. Urndach is a politically unstable area where human warlords struggle for power and influence with humanoid tribes. Bordering Nendalem and Urndach to the North is Riticoria, ruled by the elusive and ancient lord Riticoris. Riticoris has ruled for hundreds of years and is now officially a rebel, as he has never submitted to Anjaeral and expelled the first Imperial Garrison sent to Riticoria 150 years ago during the unification. Riticoria is known as a rich and productive land and without Riticorian grain, Nendalem would starve. The Principalities of Seath is an oligarchy that, were it not struggling internally with itself, would almost certainly be in the ascendant over both Urndach and Nendalem. The families and princes of Seath spend almost as much effort and resources in internal power struggles as they do in competition with Nendalem to the West.