This is the OOC Thread for a Dark Portents, a D&D game set in a beleaguered land.<br/><br/>I'd like the players to copy their characters over from the Recruitment Thread.<br/><br/>Afterword, player chat, game administration, and campaign questions can all be handled here.<br/><br/>The players currently are:<br/><br/><strong>Blinkin</strong>/ Natashah Riskmonte, Human<del>rogue</del>noble.<br/><br/><strong>knightsdestiny</strong>/ Asianne Kianira, Aasimar Warlock<br/><br/><strong>Max</strong>/ Milli, Human Fighter<br/><br/><strong>TwistedKitsune</strong>/ Lily, Wood Elf Druid<br/><br/><strong>JustAlexander</strong>/ Perrin, Human Bard<br/><br/><div class="spoiler_container"><div class="spoiler_header" onclick="hideSecond (this);" role="button">A Map</div><div class="spoiler_body">A Hex Map of the Northern Duchies<br/><br/>(https://i.imgur.com/97QRhtG.jpg)</div></div><br/>*<br/><br/><div class="spoiler_container"><div class="spoiler_header" onclick="hideSecond (this);" role="button">A brief history and some setting notes.</div><div class="spoiler_body"><br/>Welcome to the northern duchies, a bastion of civilization bound on all sides by wilderness and barbarism.<br/><br/>The Elves and Dwarves of the Compact agreed to allow the Eastern Empire to build a trade port at the mouth of the Sasserine River. Over seven centuries <strong>Port Sasserine</strong> has become a sprawling port city, and is the seat of the Grand Duchy Of Sasserine. Treaty by treaty human settlers extend north up the Sasserine River. The Duchy of Gelinat sits in the centre of the valley. The city <strong>Gelinat</strong> is located at a broad waterfall and is at the limit of large vessel navigation on the river, beyond that only small craft may pass.<br/><br/>Next is <strong>Holy Tiral</strong>, the silent city (which isn't actually that silent anymore). The Elves say the gods dwelled there once, and drafted the Holy Concordat, dividing both mortal and immortal realms between them.<br/><br/>Passing north to the shores of a great lake, the city of <strong>Vleris</strong> is the youngest of the four. Yet with metals and gems from the dwarves and rich furs and rare wood from the northern barbarians, Vleris is known for the skill of its artisans and a wealth that rivals Sasserine.<br/><br/><strong>New Rhuth</strong> is a dwarven city, built along the shores of a mountain lake. Old Rhuth can still be seen, charred stones melted like glass by the heat of the Dragon Rage.<br/><br/>The Elven city <strong>Tal Ellindor</strong> survived the Dragon Rage only through powerful and costly magics. Now the land in one day's march in any direction is still and lifeless, and the city itself is a shifting maze of illusions. The Queen of the High Elves, it is said, fell into a deep green dream when the dragons attacked, and there she remains slumbering for centuries in a city that exists half in the waking world and half in her dreams.<br/><br/>History<br/><br/><span class="bbc_u">500 Years Ago</span> The definitive event in the Sasserine Valley, occurring just as humans were starting to spread north, was the Dragon Rage. Triggered by the "success" of an Elven hero's quest,<em> Lugonn of the Shining Spear</em> destroyed a number of dragon eggs of <em>Yssloeth the Red</em> while she lay sleeping. Yssloeth's grief and anger were terrible, and she summoned all of her many children, and their children, and it is said that one could not see the stars for dragon wings. Yet eventually the dragon host departed, and the ashes of their rage fertilized new growth. Many scattered ruins cover the valley, all places lost in the Dragon Rage.<br/><br/><span class="bbc_u">200 Years Ago</span> Lugonn returned from exile far to the north. There, in frozen cities lost to the ages, he discovered the secrets of Unlife, and became its servant. For fifty years the dead walked in Sasserine Valley as Lugonn sought his revenge. At the gates of Holy Tiral his last host was defeated and his lieutenants bound and entombed. Lugonn himself had managed to escape.<br/><br/><span class="bbc_u">50 Years Ago</span> With glaciers pushing south every year the barbaric tribes north of Vleris invaded the valley. Although there were many pitched battles in the end it was trade concessions that stopped the war and saw the northern horde settle the north shores of Lake Vleris.<br/><br/><span class="bbc_u">10 Years Ago</span> The Grand Duchy underwent a three year dynastic struggle, as the ailing Grand Duke left no heir, but three strong candidates for heir presumptive.<br/><br/><span class="bbc_u">This Year</span> A bright green comet was spotted in the skies as Winter passes to Spring. Priests and soothsayers urge calm but some say it wakes ghosts and restless spirits, others claim it is the soul of Lugonn himself, back for revenge. There is a growing sense that these are the final years before the valley is lost to the forces of darkness. But this land of lonely towers, ruined castles, and forgotten tombs is a ripe fruit for those with the courage and skill to seize it. Fortunes can be made, legends founded, and perhaps the darkness can be turned back along the way.<br/><br/><strong>Politics</strong><br/><br/>The human government is formed around one Grand Duchy (Sasserine), two duchies (Gelinat and Vleris) and a bishopric (Holy Tiral). In theory fealty is owed to the Eastern Empire. Powerful merchant houses pay steep sums for a seat on privy councils.<br/><br/>The practice of indebted servitude has migrated from the Southern Theocracy. Only enacted by a Duke's magistrate, the servitude can be for one to five years or for life. But it is a punishment reserved for unpaid debts or minor crimes and requires a trial.<br/><br/><strong>Agriculture and Technology</strong><br/><br/>Most of the trappings of standard fantasy are present. Work-wheels and block and tackle are common, clock-work mechanisms exists but are rare and not commonly understood.<br/><br/>Several grains are farmed along the rivers, grapes, olives, and pitted fruit trees are plentiful. Chickens, geese, sheep and goats are plentiful, cattle are kept more for beasts of burden than food. Horses are generally a mark of wealth, donkeys and mules are common in most villages though.<br/></div></div>