AE RPG Campaign - New Axia Showdown

Submitted by szaijan on Sun, 09/07/2008 - 8:51am

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Arcana Evolved

We will be returning to my AE campaign next Saturday, September 13, at 4:30 pm. We will be playing every other week so long as I am available.

It has been only days since the Unity confronted Warsong at his citadel, a confrontation he clearly orchestrated. Separating the PCs from Taim, he offered an alliance against Nithogar, who he claims is a threat to destroy or enslave all non-draconic civilization in the North, including New Axia and the Diamond Throne. Amazingly, the PCs accepted, a decision which should eventually include Warsong becoming part of the Unity.

Meanwhile, an emissary from the draconic empire of Pallembor has demanded that New Axia forswear any alliance with the Diamond Throne and become a vassal, or be eradicated. The dragons which have already taken up residence appear outraged and ready to fight with their adopted allies, and new renegades come to join the cause every few days, but no one harbors any illusion that they will be nearly enough. At times, the skies are black with dragons winging West to reinforce their claim to the lands of the Diamond Throne, and draconid armies continue to march North into Serathis.

From Serathis itself, word has come of escalating tensions, much of which is blamed on the Unity and their tampering with a Vault which it appears is the personal property of Nithogar. Though none mention that dread name, Krovacatharis says that agents of the Giants have desecrated a dragon holy place and is pushing for obscene reparations... or war.

In the Diamond Throne, Xu-Khazad's words are finally finding receptive ears and the Giants are preparing for a fast moving war of aggression, rather than the doomed plan to defend their strongholds. In recent days, opposition to his programs has evaporated, a Sol-Cabre is dismayed at the thought that Warsong might have penetrated the Observance so thoroughly. Still, the Giant's face an overwhelming foe and the pressure to take up their warlike mantle once again is growing out of control.

In new Axia, Taim has been almost preternaturally calm since the events at Sorrow's End. His confidence is infectious and the presence of both the Trinity and Erixalimar lie heavy upon the Unity, creating a sense of rightness and invincibility at odds with the forces arrayed against the fledgling nation. The entire community is galvanized by their leader, but his thoughts are more close to the Unity than ever and Warsong's warnings that his sanity might be less than whole are impossible to dismiss, especially in light of the baleful thought he turns more and more fully upon Krovacatharis.

27 days remain until the dragon delegation arrives to press their ultimatum. What shall the Unity do now?

Many more details to come. This is just an initial overview to get folks thinking. Questions?

Nightfall/Ariande Sig

Ariande Bard 20 • Nightfall Ranger 19
The Avatars, Argonessen Server

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I think you hit some of the

Submitted by griffon on Wed, 10/22/2008 - 11:12pm.

I think you hit some of the right points, I think this will play well with the dragons that are neutral or leaning to support a different solution such as the phoenix.

What I would like to know more about is what the opposition is up and the crux of their argument. This should be easy to determine based on the localized propaganda that all the dragons will have been exposed to by now.

Beating the giants to boost the national ego and claim they could have beat the Dramoge (sp? feh) is a interesting subtext we should definitely see if the phoenix can give us a sense of if that argument has been put forth subtlety by the opposition.

At the end of the day we are probable going to have pitch that victory can be had without the war, and that will be tough sell since even if all independent lands will agree to make peace and except dragon stewardship through careful contract negotiations (heh) the Giants are still stuck either having to leave, fight... or yield. Seems pretty untenable for the diamond throne.

I'm not sure what the right note is to hit as far as true cost. The people of the land... hmm yeah think they will throw us under the wagon for the most part. The dragon population... maybe but I'm not sure how far that will sell given the ego's involved and that such loss would imply some vulnerability to the diamond thrones tactics. Dame to the land it's self might sell, but we would need something past conjecture, since they can point out that over time the land will be healed. Our own city and others are examples of how people can survive over time and make improvements. How much better might that go when the dragons win and can um 'help'.

I'm not saying you are not barking up the right tree, I'm just not sure what the best shot would be.

How to post

Submitted by griffon on Wed, 10/22/2008 - 10:52pm.

I think in context replying to an appropriate header is totally fine.

However should you like to create some new content you can look to the menu on the left hand side bellow the game icons. You will notice a entry called create content (post). You probable want the blog link.

Just to confusing you can also go to the forum and post there. Things there do not show up on the front page but do get picked up in the recent posts on the right.

Before the Dragon Assembly

Submitted by frank on Wed, 10/22/2008 - 9:44pm.

Sorry, the only way I know to post is to reply to something. Please show me how to simply "put this up."

It is past time we started to think about our presentation to the Dragons. Here is a first cut to begin this process.

First, some overall concepts. I believe we should speak as though any confrontation of Dragon/Giant will end up with the dragons winning. What we will want to stress is the cost. I also believe the Dragons deep down believe that if they can defeat the Giants and the Giants defeated the Dramojii, then this proves that if the Dragons had wanted to could have defeated the Dramojii. Thus their honor is saved. I would also like to have read the original treaty. I suspect that it says the Giants will not come to this land but presupposes that the Dragons will be the land’s care takers.

I propose we have one main speaker who I call the voice of reason. Reason will begin and end our presentation. He/She will speak of our own credentials as Rune Children. And of the honor of both the Dragons and the Giants. Will speak to the horns the Giants faced when they learned of the death and tragedy and horrid travesties born by the peoples of the West. That the Giants chose Life and Duty and that their own honor system could allow no other outcome.

The closing speech will address how the new kingdoms are the perfect buffer between the Dragons and the Giants. The ideal location for trade and diplomatic exchanges between the races. How these lands are well on their way to being multi racial in a very good way.

Between these two speeches others will talk. One will address the cost of such a war. While the Dragons may well win in the end, how many will die? What of the fair city we are in? Will it escape unscathed? How long will it take for the Dragons to recover?

Another will explore what is happening in Thartholan. Is this experiment to be allowed to die? There are dragons living there as equal citizens of the state. They are willing to put their lives on the line to save their country. Witness the bravery and honor of those who carried us on this mission.

Still another will speak of the terrible cost of such a war. How both sides will be terribly weakened and ask “Who does this benefit?” Where is the third party who is advanced by this war?

Very important. This speaker or another will raise the question of whether the Giants truly destroyed the Dramojii or whether they again went into hiding in order to build up their strength. This line of thought should have the Dragons thinking about something besides the Giants. Moreover, it also means that the Giants did no better against the Dramojii than the Dragons accomplished so many thousands of years ago. It means that if the Dragons go to war against the Giants they are being used and manipulated by the Dramojii.

I would like to find even the slimmest hook in the original treaty that would support the contention the Dragons were first to weaken the treaty with the Giants when they gave up being caretakers of the lands and peoples on their East coast.

Those are my thoughts. We may also need to address our “plundering of a holy Dragon city.” We need to answer this by asking “Holy to whom? Who could call it holy except those who trace the beginnings of their race to this ancient city?.”

Champion of Erixalimar

Submitted by szaijan on Mon, 10/20/2008 - 9:34am.

The rules for this class can be found here. Look for future game rulings under Books->Arcana Evolved House Rules.

Please not that I updated the old AE-4th Edition Rules thread to 'unpublished'. Likely you all got notification of that change and were unable to view the thread since it's no longer available. Hopefully you all got notified of the above "book" when I added it to the site.

See you all Sunday at 4:30 pm. Post here if you can and want to start earlier.

EDIT: We won't be starting any earlier as the Steelers have an afternoon game against the Giants. For your own sakes, hope they win in a reasonably short game. ;^)

Trip to Dragon Capitol

Submitted by frank on Tue, 09/23/2008 - 4:43pm.

The offer to teleport sounds good to me. If we travel that way to Pellembar, our dragon escort could meet us there.

This would do a number of things; it would be more comfortable, it should be safer as we will be targets for a shorter period of time and it should give the bad guys less time to realize what we are doing.

Keeping our plans close to our vest, the dragons leave a few days before us. Perhaps leaving in ones and twos? After allowing our dragon friends time to arrive and a day or so more, we are teleported to Pellambar. Should be safe enough up to that point. A quick flight into town and we will be among friends. Sounds good. Of course, things never go as planned.....

Dengo

Dragon Flight

Submitted by szaijan on Mon, 09/22/2008 - 3:53pm.

Four Dragons have agreed to carry the Unity to Pallembor, all but one quite young. The hermitic Blue-Green male, Ash'falanthis, an ebullient Green-Bronze female Fa'Tlinth'tiri, a Red-Black firebrand male Kralag'shan'kor, and an ancient Bronze (verdigris) newcomer named Scythal (his real name is MUCH longer) who is clearly the leader of the volunteers. There is a sense that Scythal is greatly amused by the happenings around him and brief conversation suggests he's as much here just to see what will happen as the desire to be part of any kind of revolution.

Accoring to Scythal, you will have to be flown to the Capitol where you will be introduced to some of Scythal's friends and brought before the Lower Assembly (comprised mostly of dracha and humans) to make your case. Only if you get approval from the Lower Assembly will the issue be presented to the Conclave of Lords (Comprised almost entirely of dragons.) Even at best this will take a week or two to make happen.

The ancient gold dragon and his son are willing to teleport you to Pallembor, but you will need to fly in from the site and you will need the dragon escorts.

It's unfortunate but I fear

Submitted by griffon on Sat, 09/13/2008 - 11:34am.

It's unfortunate but I fear the message about the tribal council probable got missed because Lock had to leave urgently with Sheera and Chiarra to server as a body guard.... yeah, pretty sure that is what happened....

Time and Responsibilities

Submitted by szaijan on Thu, 09/11/2008 - 9:54am.

I've decided we all need some time to get back into the swing of the campaign, so I'm not going to skip forward. Many of you have tasks awaiting you on return to New Axia

Sheera (Susan) and Chiarra (Kirsten) have been summoned home to face a Gathering. They are late by at least 3 weeks already.

Oceryn and Barlowe have been recalled to De-Shamod (the Giant's capitol) to be debriefed and attend an audience with the Queen.

Starfall's (Foxglove's (Stephanie's) dire wolf) former master has come to pay a call and a community of Greenbonds has sprung up in New Axia who are eager for her participation in their rituals and inclusion in their cabals.

Lok's grandfather has demanded his attendance at a tribal conclave of elders. Such gatherings almost always involve momentous decisions such as weddings, the acceptance of position, et. al. All possibilities seem more than a bit ominous to the young warrior.

Dengyo is in a bit of a funk. He has returned for the Unity's audience with a block similarly opaque to whatever Erixalimar or the Unity did to Taim.

Evan's Time (and possible trip - see last bullet point)

Submitted by Mac on Wed, 09/10/2008 - 1:47pm.

The first few days back Evan is a little preoccupied – and is rarely seen outside his home unless critical issues arise. After his quality time with Lycette, he has a few things that keep him occupied-

New Axia: Evan spends a few hours a day just walking the city, talking to residents, and catching up with old friends. He is very visible and lends a hand when it is needed in any rebuilding effort. He is nearly a constant presence, and spends a lot of time getting to know the bakers, artisans, bricklayers and other citizenry.

Teaching: At some point I see the following happening: Evan will start teaching Lycette (as the pregnancy allows) in a home-built training studio. I see that expanding to a few of the paid servants, and eventually expanding into a full dojo. Evan welcomes any students (and would ask/welcome any of the other unity members to teach if they would volunteer their time for their expertise). He does not accept any sort of cash payment, he will only accept service in payment – he expects his students to volunteer with the guard/nightwatch/etc.

The Temple: Evan strongly supports the building of a temple to the Trinity around the Way Stone – Evan envisions a large public forum/meeting area with the stone as a central focal point – metaphorically the foundation stone. He is also active in religious observances and rituals. He is vocal, and if he sees something he does not like in the growing religion he is not hesitant to express his displeasure.

The specifics: The following are actions that Evan will take before the dragons arrive.

Speak with the dragons – Evan seeks to understand the current political situation in the kingdom to the west. Who, if anyone has the right to speak for “all dragons.” Is there any figurehead that opposes Nithogar? What would dragons think of the necromancy used to keep the soul of the Fetch bound?
Speak with Warsong – Evan wants to have another chat with our ally/enemy. He spends a few evenings walking outside the walls with the hope of a conversation.
Speak with the king of Verdune. Evan might suggest a consecrated temple to the Earth Mother within striking distance of the Dracha road might be a good idea – the ghost knights seem to take their territory protection pretty seriously – and there will be a time when Nithogar’s dragons may be a more serious threat than the undead – and ghosts fly!
Speak with Taim’s sister – we need anti-dragon dominance charms for everyone in the city, STAT!
Speak with Sol-Cabre about Corael’s fortress. This place is where this all began – we know there is a lot there uncovered, and we know we have another undead army brewing there. What is the status? Is it worth another look-see so we can gather potential weapons? Also, Evan has not forgotten that there are still intact crystal statues of Taims’ previous supporters in the dungeon that we can recover – Evan would very much like to talk to one or two of them…

What Now?

Submitted by szaijan on Wed, 09/10/2008 - 9:09am.

I'd like a post from each of the players giving me (and the rest of you) some idea of what you want to do this Saturday. You know the situation. You have about a month. Will you wait for fate to come to you, or are the things you want to get done before the Dragon's descend on New Axia? Shall I pass time until something happens?

Answers

Submitted by szaijan on Wed, 09/10/2008 - 8:28am.

#1: The undead scourge to the north: Now that we have dealt with the undead -generating Dramojh weapon, has the situation to the North stabalized? Also, what about the "Ghost Captain" and his cohort?

Yes. Verdune is in a better place. The ghost knights ride the night, striking down undead wherever they find them. The Witch Hunters and Champions of Life keep the people safe. It will e a long time before people can spread beyond the Capitol's immediate influence, but it's much better. The Dracha armies marching across Northern Verdun to Serathis are creating a great deal of tension, but the King is not currently in a position to do anything about it.

#2: The Dragons in New Axia - can you list them for us? One thing that Evan will want to do is speak with them and see if any of them know of "T".

I'd need my notes to do that. More than one of them know of T'enl'voch, as he has become something of a celebrity among the Dracha and is rising fast, but none know him personally.

#3: Status of New Axia - we have the stone, and I assume some level of protection against the ravages of the dimension warps sweeping the land - is the protection just for the city, or has the stability grown to cover the outside lands?

It has grown, but slowly, seemingly in response to growing population and devotion to the Trinity. It now extends about a mile past the walls.

#4: The Trinity and the Old Gods - This is another question based on Evan's experiences. In addition to the dragons returning to the lands of the Diamond Thone, we have seen the resurgance of at least 2 "old" religions - the old time earth goddess in the North, and the Trinity here in New Axia. In our links to the Trininty or Erixalimar is there any evidence/feeling that we may be also seeing a resurgance of other "old gods" as well?

No. They remain absent, a fact that has been much upon Taim's mind lately as he grapples with some way for new Axia to survive the coming confrontation.

Thanks

Submitted by Lunarae on Mon, 09/08/2008 - 8:56pm.

Mike,

Thanks for listing the who's who. It sure helps me remember where we were and what we were doing. Shira would volunteer to help speak with the Dragons in New Axia.

Susan

"A small leak can sink a great ship."

--Benjamin Franklin

"A small leak can sink a great ship."

--Benjamin Franklin

Other PCs summary

Submitted by Mac on Mon, 09/08/2008 - 12:43pm.

Mike,

Thanks for this list. I do not have my notes handy, but I would like a status/list update of a few things - listed below.

#1: The undead scourge to the north: Now that we have dealt with the undead -generating Dramojh weapon, has the situation to the North stabalized? Also, what about the "Ghost Captain" and his cohort?

#2: The Dragons in New Axia - can you list them for us? One thing that Evan will want to do is speak with them and see if any of them know of "T".

#3: Status of New Axia - we have the stone, and I assume some level of protetion against the ravages of the dimension warps sweeping the land - is the protection just for the city, or has the stability grown to cover the outside lands?

Rogues Gallery

Submitted by szaijan on Mon, 09/08/2008 - 11:43am.

The Unity
A group of adventurers soul bonded together through an artifact created by the arch-mage Corael. The player characters.

Taim Kadere
King of New Axia, the Unity's home city and capitol of Thartholan. The Captain. Part of the Unity, Champion of Erixalimar.

Sol-Cabre
First Councilor of the Diamon Throne. Head of the Queens Secret Police. Likely the most powerful mage the Unity has encountered. Nominally an ally of the Unity.

Warsong
A planes-walking former Illithid (Mind Flayer) who has taken on a genetically perfect human form. Previously the greatest enemy of Taim and New Axia. Now he is seemingly an ally. An extremely potent mind mage with "psionic" abilities that are alien to this plane and to which most mages seem to have little or no defense. Warsong is ancient and claims to be an enemy of Nithogar (see below.)

Nithogar
A legendary plane-walking dragon and reputed progenitor of the great scourge of history, the Dramojh (see below.) He was once Erixalimar's (see below) greatest foe and is the reputed to be the leader of a large faction of the Pallembor empire (an empire to the West of New Axia compried of dragons and humanoid races, nominally living in peace and prosperity) that seeks the make assure the primacy of dragons and the enslavement of all other races. Essentially a demi-god on the verge of ascension.

Erixalimar
A dragon god and god of Good and Justice. Once the greatest of living drakes, he ascended to god hood many centuries ago and is now worshipped throughout Pallembor. At a minimum, Erixalimar has become a patron deity of the Unity.

Krovacatharis
The Seeker. An ancient black dragon and extremely potent Magister. Krovacatharis is the dragon's agent in Serathis (the lost city of the Dramojh to the far North) and is thought to be an agent of Nithogar's. He is personally aware of the PCs (though not the Unity) and may already be a deadly foe.