Erallian Campaign; Session 4

All agreed that the morning had come too soon, and the early preparation only further soured their moods. Dressed and fed, they proceeded into the breaking dawn. All immediately drew their weapons as the sight of a ferocious wolf filled their vision. Arlina began spewing incantations before a leather clad female figure rushed into the fray, shouted at the party to cease their aggression, and whispered softly to the growling beast. It quieted down before licking its master’s face.

“What in the name of all…” Arlina began to speak, but the ranger cut her short.

“I am Lilly, of Perod Heights. I arrived yesterday and, upon speaking to the mayor, have been informed of your task. Surely you could use the talents of a skilled master of the wilds, yes?” Azreck couldn’t hold back a smile and Lunara nodded immediately. Arlina, clearly, was not thrilled, but understood the advantages involved. It was Zyrallus, though, who spoke.

“Of course. I assume that this is your companion?” He gestured toward the panting wolf and received a gentle nod. “Very well… your name?”

“Lilly.”

Azreck spoke up then, “An Orthrasix, eh? I did not know your kind still left Perod.” Lilly looked up at the towering paladin and the briefest glint of hatred sparkled behind her eyes. She quickly hid the glare before responding.

“We leave when we desire to, Gallahulk. I was unaware your kind knew anything but torment. Worshipping that despicable Tiamat as your queen… you disgust me.”

Azreck only laughed. “Learn your facts before you accuse, child. I worship her simply for the power it bestows. It was not my choice to be created in this vile form, but I have lived a tiresome life attempting to atone for that mistake. Have you ever seen a Gallahulk who willingly strays from Tiamat’s teachings? They lose their knowledge of the divine… I will not risk that.” Lilly looked at first to continue the argument, but brushed the topic away.

“Let us move out. The forest is filled with vile creatures, and I hear that we must first find a portal to enter the Venathan Tower. This mayor seems odd, but at the very least somewhat trustworthy.” At that, they gathered together and headed into the nearby forest.

The ground was damp from a shower which must have occurred sometime during the night. The trees swayed in the gentle breeze, and all was peaceful in a way that none of the party was used to. Breaking the silence was a lone voice, muffled by the walls of a slowly approaching house. Through the window, Zyrallus noticed two shadowy silhouettes. It was daylight now, but there were no candles lit within the abode. The rogue crept up to the window and waited for the sounds to move away. Just at the moment he detected their distraction, Zyrallus peered inside and took count of the interior. He crept back as silently as he had arrived. “Five of them. Two ranged. And there is indeed a small altar of some kind inside. But how could they know of our arrival, or even use the portal… unless…”

Lunara understood immediately, “Unless their leader is a Fallen. It is the only way. Very well, we know of their numbers. How do we use that to our advantage?” The party discussed quietly and decided that Zyrallus would spy until the enemies were distracted and then alert the party to break through the front door. The rogue checked for locks, found none, and moved to his position. All was quiet… and then he gave the word.

Clearly, the human guards were not expecting an ambush. Before they even had a chance to react, Lilly’s ferocious wolf took one of the crossbowman out and Zyrallus stealthily backstabbed a warrior into oblivion. As the enemies looked to regain composure, though, the party executed perfectly and got in another flurry of attacks. All that remained after the second assault were two lowly warriors, one already bleeding profusely. They charged valiantly and ganged up on Arlina. Amazingly, both of them delivered vital blows and knocked the bard out cold. She lay, writhing and bleeding on the wooden floor. Azreck rushed to her aid as Lunara finished off the weaker enemy. Zyrallus dealt with the other.

“You’re going to be fine, Arlina. Just hold on.” The grizzled Gallahulk prayed for mercy as his patient slipped one step closer to demise. Again, he attempted to save her, and finally she moved back to the conscious world. The enormous paladin sighed in relief as a gentle hand fell on his shoulder. He looked up to see Lilly smiling. He returned it and asked for her help in lifting the bruised bard to her feet.

“Thank you, Azreck. Truly.” He nodded as Lunara made her way to the altar. With a kind of melancholy dance she activated the ancient device, grinning widely as the brilliant light shone forth from the portal. It seemed to yawn, as if awakened from the deepest slumber. Lunara turned.

“Are you fit to leave, Arlina?” The bard nodded, and before any of them could argue in her stead, she jumped onto the shining tiles and vanished. Shrugging, the rest of them followed. The journey was afoot, indeed.

D&D Homebrew; Erallian Pantheon

The Erallian Pantheon is, to be frank, rather spacious. In the beginning, only the most powerful gods dared to stake their claim to the swirling nothingness of the ocean mire, and, once the land became settled and dominated by The Four, no other deities dared intrude. Still, there are a few inhabitants of the Erallian mainland who achieved their place through migration, and many of these outsiders stake their claim to one of three Under Gods or the plethora of deities from other lands. Because of this, the Erallian campaign setting remains confined in both landmass and supernatural leaders, but the few who do preside are not to be trifled with.

The Four

Bahamut

Bahamut, upon noticing the opportunity for a new and lawful domain, staked his claim to two areas. The one began as a secluded, mountainous island; the other a snow ridden proving ground for his bravest followers. Unfortunately, as the years passed and the wars forsook the lands, his sacred retreat was completely obliterated. Ironically, the area made to be his land of fame and victory instead morphed into the only safe haven for northern war deserters. He now presides in the fourth quadrant of the Am’Or astral plain, waiting and watching for the time to save his greatest creations… or destroy them.

Tiamat

If one would compare Bahamut to the king of Erallia, Tiamat must be considered the most aggressive party vying for the throne. Her villainy in Erallia began as it ended; the destruction of many and a hasty retreat. To her delight, the other gods trusted her in the beginning of all. A mistake, she hopes, they will soon regret. Her realm, in Am’Or quadrant two, is a fiery hell of unmentionable destruction. None would dare approach her. As a kind of taunt, perhaps, she created an accessible portal on the northern Erallian isle. Exactly eight have entered the place. Exactly eight are suffering eternal damnation for their ignorance.

Lolth

The spider queen has given up her previous struggle for Erallian supremacy. Her vision of a new and powerful underdark was, unfortunately, shattered after the Second War. In escaping, without her knowledge, she left a gateway to her realm in the third quadrant of the Am’Or. It is a vile and dangerous place, only accessible through her premature underdark on Erallia’s southeast isle. She knows not of Erallia’s goings on. Rather ironic when one considers she is open to invasion… at least, if the enemy can overcome her darkest minions in the process.

Vecna

The true lich king cares not for Erallia. He despises the elves that forsook his name, he loathes the gods who stole his glory, and he desires the entire Erallian world to crumble into nothingness. He thinks about it sometimes, basks in the realization that at any time he could begin his third crusade against the good and hopeful of Erallia. The southwestern city of Dothram houses the only portal to his Am’Or realm, that of quadrant one. Both Dothram and the first quadrant are home to the most vile and despicable of undead creatures. Vecna dares all to challenge him. Their deaths, if hideous enough, give him minor satisfaction.

The Under Gods

Ultara

Her presence in Erallia was as sudden as any. One second she was unknown, the next she walked the earth in search of true pride and peace. Though she cares not for the role of politics or violence, she has in secret aligned herself with the great lord Bahamut. Her mastery of the seasons and thunderous refrain must be challenged if any desire meeting with her lawful master. As an interesting aside, the people of the northwestern isle are the only to worship her… the same isle which was chosen and created by Bahamut to be his ultimate gauntlet.

Zinshe

A dual wielding katana warrior is horrifying enough. Imagine one taller than the skies themselves, wielding eight mighty weapons of sharpest quality, and burning in the northern sect. Zinshe approached Tiamat. She told him that challenging her would lead to certain doom, and, in seeing his obvious talents, convinced him to guard her supremacy. None can champion Tiamat without first destroying her most prized warrior.

Silsannan

If Lolth is the spider queen, Silsannan is the spider princess. Don’t ever call her that, of course, lest you desire to lose your head and be sucked dry. She guards the premature remains of Lolth’s Erallian underdark, skittering around the caverns in search of food and sustenance. You may be able to challenge Lolth without facing Silsannan, but don’t expect to miss her on the way out. Lolth is directly tied to her veritable princess, and will resurrect in true form if Silsannan is not first defeated.

And there you have it. Vecna has no under god, for the bronze lich serves as adequate protection. My players usually enjoy the tiered battle system (though in 4e the gods can be difficult enough on their own) and sometimes opt to simply destroy the under god associated with the true god they hope to defeat. Warm ups like Ultara, especially, often resemble the true battle in epic challenge and reward.

4e D&D Homebrew; Fallen Race

The Fallen, obviously, are in no way unique to RPGs or fantasy settings. The very idea of accursed angelic beings ranges from religious texts to pulp literature. Still, I've always loved the idea, and tried my hardest to make Erallia's Fallen at least somewhat interesting. I don't know if I succeeded, but I offer it to you either way.

The Fallen

Racial Traits
Average Height: 6’3” – 7’2”
Average Weight: 200lb – 290lb
Ability Scores: +2 Intelligence, +2 Wisdom
Size: Medium
Speed: 6 Squares
Vision: Low-light
Languages: Common, Abyssal
Skill Bonuses: +2 History, +2 Insight
Eternal dichotomy: You resist fire and radiant
Damage Equal to 5 + ½ your level
Immortal lineage: Your revoked angelic
Status makes you immortal in relation to
Effects concerning creature origin.
Sadistic: Any time a Fallen rolls a natural
20, she gains +1 to first attack roll next turn.
Flames of the Abyss: You can use the
Flames Of the Abyss encounter power.

Flames of the Abyss – Encounter
You utilize your damnation as fuel for extra damage.
Minor Action Personal
On the next damaging attack of your turn, add fire or necrotic damage equal to 1d6 + your intelligence or wisdom modifier. (The modifier is chosen at creation and never changes. The element of the attack, though, is chosen on each attack to fit the situation at hand.) At level 21 the damage die increases to 3d6 + intelligence or wisdom modifier.

HISTORY

The fallen were once the consultants and guiders of the gods themselves, before the Lodarian Uprising of lore. Historians still debate the exact reason the high angels rebelled against their masters, but there is no reason to argue about the outcome of the struggle. Angels fell like meteors from the highest of all places, crashing into the depths of the underbelly to crawl a new and meaningless path. They succumbed to the torture and pain of that Hell, and only after five hundred years were they allowed to be free once again… but on the mortal grounds of Ellaria. They search, as many do, for a task worthy of their immortal powers.

PLAY A FALLEN IF YOU WANT…

--- A glorious past tainted by unceremonious torment.
--- To value victory over the gods.
--- A race which favors the Avenger, cleric, invoker, and wizard classes.

PLAYING A FALLEN

Fallen are naturally sarcastic and often dour. They do not enjoy conversation unless it serves a direct purpose. Mention anything about the gods, if you dare. A fallen will never miss an opportunity to curse them. The newer generation of fallen, though, have lost some of the animosity towards the gods, and some go so far as to study divine powers. This is, of course, in secret.

D&D Homebrew; Erallia Campaign Setting

I know a lot of people who look down upon DM’s building their own worlds in the D&D universe. I get the sentiment: why create something new when there is a plethora of enjoyable content already waiting to be traversed? The answer seems to come down to the fact that I simply love taking bits and pieces from various sources and watching them coalesce into a newborn, and often only slightly recognizable, offspring. From this I lead to my current campaign in the world of Erallia. It takes D&D deities, mashes them up, mixes their original intents… pretty much everything a straightforward Dungeons and Dragons lore-junkie would not only frown upon, but also aim to destroy. Either way, and without further wasted space, I present to you the preliminary history of my D&D world; Erallia.

In the Beginning

Erallia began as all things begin; a swirling mass of nothingness viewed as a golden frontier for the gods. At the start, so the prophets say, there was none but the churning ocean. Tiamat viewed this world and envisioned a mass of fire forged legionnaires marching in anarchy. Bahamut saw a shining hope of a new capital for law and divine order. Vecna imagined an undead realm for he and his craving minions. Lolth understood the importance of creating another chain of under caverns for her thirst driven, blackened minions. And so the battle began… and ended almost as abruptly. For once in the history of mankind the gods agreed to share their vestige of hope and torment.

Tiamat forged a northern continent of fire and doom. In her trickery, though, she also created a portal to the Gods’ realm so she could always traverse between the mortal and immortal to wreak her unspeakable havoc when the time came. Bahamut Made a small and unimposing island to the east for his clan of worshippers and a larger, frozen tundra to the northwest for any brave enough to travel there. Lolth fashioned a dry and arid desert continent in the southeast where cavernous tunnels of infinite length traversed beneath the sand. Finally, Vecna created a set of islands in the southwest where there could be carnage and bloodshed for all to see. And in the center… there would be a massive land of not but earth, forest, and mountains. They knew that one day their peoples would search for greater things.

The Great Collapse

But all was not to be, unfortunately. The people did come, did flock in masses to the newly discovered world. Dwarves and humans and elves and all kinds came and prospered. But when, after a thousand years of living by themselves, the time came to spread out… they met in relative harmony. The central continent was founded and capitalized, and all but a rare few stayed in their original places. The gods had lost their footholds. They would have to fight for that middle land and regain the place of all high god of Erallia.

But how was it to be done? The peoples of the world answered that question for themselves. The first civil war of Erallia broke out twelve hundred years after its divine creation. The northern sect, made up of humans and dwarves, battled against the southern sect, comprised of elves and demon spawn. Some left to found their own destinies, some left to save themselves, but most remained and fought for the better half of a century. When the dust cleared, the north stood victorious. In an act of fury they banished the demons completely from the continent and allowed the elves to remain, with diminished rights. Vecna, Lolth and Tiamat, who had sided with the elves and demons, were surmounted nearly completely by the great lord Bahamut. Without worshippers, what power does a god have?

But bahamut was either too weak or too virtuous to strike his opposition down. He allowed time to work itself through, and, of course, the three downtrodden gods amassed armies to reinvent their image in the hearts and minds of the Erallian races. And so began the true chaos…

World at War

All were split by the gods. Dwarves who followed Bahamut battled fiercely against those who devoted themselves to Tiamat, Human followers of Vecna’s dark Hand struck down their brethren of the Lolthian Darkness, and all was awash with chaos. Again, the world was near to breaking. As it ended, much was lost. Bahamut’s eastern enclave was destroyed, later to be rebuilt by the Sel’Salan who worship him so highly, Lolth was mortally wounded and forced to retreat to the under caverns, Vecna’s elven chosen forgot their master and forsook the gods, and Tiamat decided that now was not, after all, the correct time to plot her conquest. And so the world moved on, waiting for the gods to make their next move.

To this day, though, that has not yet happened. And whispers abound that perhaps the Gods have finally forsaken their erstwhile creation. Perhaps, indeed, Erallia is without hope. Without divinity. Without any semblance of righteousness or law.

4e D&D Homebrew; Dothraman Race

Ah… the Dothrama. I was perusing some old books and wondered whether or not I really needed to add another elf based race to my campaign. Clearly, 4th edition has enough of that already. But maybe it wouldn’t hurt, and might even help if I could tie them directly to one of the four major Gods of the land. A few minutes later, the Dothrama were born in my mind, and they’ve become perhaps the most popular Erallian racial choice with players. (Most assuredly because of the rather delicious racial power, but I digress)

The Dothrama

Racial Traits
Average Height: 5’7” – 6’ 2”
Average Weight: 140lb – 220lb
Ability Scores: +2 Strength, +2 Dexterity
Size: Medium
Speed: 6 Squares
Vision: Low-light
Languages: Common, Elven, Choice of Other
Skill Bonuses: +2 Intimidate, +2 Thievery
Dark Past: You resist Necrotic damage equal to 5 + ½ your level
Fey Lineage: Your elven ancestry in the feymarch makes you a fey creature by creature origin.
Undead Mastery: You gain a +1 bonus to all defenses against attacks made by undead enemies.
Finishing Flurry: You can use the Finishing Flurry encounter power.

Finishing Flurry – Encounter
You miss a foe and attempt to remedy the failed attack.
Encounter – Martial, Weapon (Melee)
Immediate Reaction
Trigger – You miss with a melee attack.
You continue to make basic dexterity vs. Ref attacks against the target in melee range. Each one deals 1[W] damage, and each subsequent attack gains a cumulative -2 penalty to the attack roll. If you hit on the fifth attack, which would incur a -8 penalty to the attack roll, you achieve your finishing flurry and deal 2[W] + dexterity modifier damage instead of 1[W]. After using this encounter power, no matter the result, you are dazed from the effort. (save ends)

At 21st Level, the damage increases to 4[W] + dexterity modifier on the final attack.
(In addition, you may choose, at character creation, to permanently replace all instances of dexterity with strength. If you choose strength, you roll against fortitude instead of reflex.)

HISTORY

Dothram was known almost universally as the capital of lust, violence and sexual gratification in the early ages of Erallia. The people of this wayward city worshipped none but themselves, and the gods were pleased that Dothram stayed its own course and did nothing to interfere with theirs. Unfortunately, the final king of the ancient land publically ridiculed Vecna, God of the south and the Undead. Almost instantly, Vecna smote the land and enslaved its people. The Dothrama are the undead descendents of this violent day in Erallian history.

PLAY A DOTHRAMA IF YOU WANT…

— A shameful past and a lifetime of worthwhile repentance.
— To value strength and adroitness .
— To favor the Rogue, Barbarian, and Ranger classes.

PLAYING A DOTHRAMA

The few Dothrama who survive to this day are usually very courteous and respectful. They are natural followers, but that does, in no way, subtract from their exquisite prowess in battle. These former slaves of Vecna earned their freedom through years of martial training and submission to their undead master. Most feel no animosity towards their evil ruler, but some desire nothing more than to end his reign as True God of the Undead Hordes. Most Dothrama favor a passive, stealth oriented approach to combat, but recent generations have focused more on the purely violent forms of martial warfare.