乱七八糟团务区

[A球]

Designing Routes or Designing the Map
Before you can run an interesting travel game, the first thing you have to do is create the wilderness through which the party will be traveling. And you can do this in one of two ways. You can either design a few different routes for the party to choose from. Or you can draw a map. As noted above, the map doesn’t have to be accurate by any stretch. It just have to show the relative distances and where the different types of terrain are.

Either way, you’re looking to figure out five things. How long is each route? How dangerous is each route (or each section)? How easy is each route to navigate (or each section)? What’s the available of resources along each route (or each section)? And how likely is the party to get sidetracked by an interesting discovery on each route?

Before I launch into specific mechanics, let me explain that I like to grade each one of those things on a five point scale.

First of all, Danger is measured from 1 to 5. 1 is a relatively safe, civilized region or a barren, desolate region. 2 is a dangerous frontier. 3 is enemy territory. 4 is regularly patrolled, extremely hostile territory. And 5 is reserved for the sort of terrain which is filled with monsters that are actively trying to destroy all intruders and can detect the intruders with supernatural means. For example, Hell or The Land of the Dead. Seriously, 4 and 5 are pretty ridiculously dangerous. You’ll see why.

Navigation and Resources are both measured in terms of a DC. But either can be moot. For example, following a road or river makes Navigation moot. And traveling through civilized, friendly farmland makes Resources moot. Otherwise, you want to set a DC of 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, etc. in D&D 5E or a DC of 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, etc. in D&D 3E, 4E, and Pathfinder. Verdant forests and lush meadows have a Resource DC of 5 or 10. Deserts have a Resource DC of 25 or 30. Gently rolling flatlands have a Navigation DC of 5 or 10. A Desert has a Navigation DC of 25 or 30. If you want to add a Fantasy Factor like confounding fair curses or the blessings of the Land Spirits, you can adjust the DCs by 5 either way.

Got it?

Now, let’s talk about how all of this plays out.

Choosing a Route
Obviously, the first step in traveling is to choose a route. The players need to somehow find out what the lay of the land is and learn any interesting details about the routes in question. They should have a rough idea about how long each route is, how dangerous, how difficult it is to navigate, and how difficult it is to forage. Because they are going to need to plan their food supplies accordingly. Presumably, they will have access to a map or local knowledge or research. As the GM, it’s your job to find ways to get this information in front of your players. As far as discoveries, you can use that as a way to entice the players along a particular route or just vaguely hint at it or leave it as a surprise. Discoveries mainly come up as a way to drive choices along the way.

Now, the party doesn’t have to know everything. Partway through a trip through a forest, they can encounter signs that are passing into goblin territory or cursed land or something and they can make a decision then and there about whether to press through the new territory or whether to try to go around or even retreat and try a different route. Those sorts of surprises can help add decisions to a longer trip.

At this point, it is important for you, the GM, to know how long the route should take in days. That’s how you’ll be tracking things. Not in miles. In days.

The Travel Day
Once the party sets out, it’s time to resolve each day of travel. At the beginning of the day, the party decides what kind of pace to set: Slow, Medium, or Fast.

At a Slow Pace, the party is moving carefully and quietly. They gain Advantage or a +4 Bonus to all checks to perceive danger and all hostile creatures suffer Disadvantage or a -4 Penalty to detect the party, thus allowing the party to surprise enemies. In addition, the party can forage for food normally if they maintain a slow pace for the entire day. Finally, navigation checks enjoy Advantage or a +4 Bonus when moving at a Slow pace. The party’s speed, however, is reduced by a third. So every three days of travel count as only two days of travel.

At a Medium pace, the party travels normally. They may forage for food with Disadvantage or a -4 Penalty.

At a Fast pace, the party travels more quickly. Their speed is increased by a third. So every three days of travel count as four days. While traveling at a Fast Pace, the party cannot forage for food at all. They suffer Disadvantage or a -4 Penalty on all checks to perceive dangers and on navigation checks. Hostile creatures enjoy Advantage or a +4 Bonus on checks to detect or track the party.

Once the party has set the pace for the day, they CAN change the pace based on what happens to them during the day. Don’t worry, you’ll resolve all of that stuff at the end of the day.

Now, pick up six 6-sided dice. Each one represents a time-period of the day. Morning, Afternoon, Evening, Dusk, Midnight, Predawn. Roll them all. For each one that shows the Danger number or less, an encounter MIGHT happen. We’ll talk about random encounters. For example, if the Danger is 3, and your six dice show 5, 2, 3, 4, 1, 6; the party will have three encounters that day. One in the evening, one at dusk, and one at predawn. Notice that the danger number is actually the number of encounters you will expect to happen in one day.

Finally, roll one more d6. If that shows the Discovery number or less, you need to tantalize the party with something interesting off the road for them to check out. A ruined tower, a sign of magic, an old tomb, an ancient henge, a shrine, or whatever. The key is that it has to be far enough off the path that the party has to choose whether to waste a few hours investigating it or to ignore it.

Now, you play out the daytime encounters as they happen. After each encounter, the party might spend some time resting, recovering, or whatever. Don’t worry about that. They might also decide to change their pace. That’s fine too. When playing out the encounters, its important to remember that surprise is a definite possibility. If the party is moving slowly and quietly and the enemy doesn’t detect them, they should be able to plan an ambush or bypass the encounter. If the party is rushing, they might very well be surprised and ambushed themselves. In fact, it is entirely possible that neither party detects the other and the encounter never happens. That’s totally fine. Sometimes, that’s just how it goes. That’s why we roll dice.

If no encounters or discoveries happen, the day passes uneventfully and the PCs find a place to make camp for the night.

Making Camp
It’s time for some bookkeeping at this point. First of all, you have to find out if the party is lost. To do this, have the best navigator make a navigation roll against the Navigation DC of the terrain. If the party traveled at a Fast pace at any point during the day, apply Disadvantage or a -4 penalty. Make this roll in secret. If they fail, the party has gotten lost at some point during the day. They just don’t know it yet.

Now, you have to figure out how many days of travel the party logged during the day. If the party isn’t lost, this is determined by their pace. They either log 2/3, 1, or 1 1/3 days depending on the slowest pace they moved at during the day. If the party has now logged enough days to finish their route, they will reach their destination tomorrow. If the party stopped to investigate a discovery, subtract 1/3 from their progress unless they spent the whole day on the discovery. In which case, they make no progress. Use your best judgment. Likewise, use your best judgment if the party does something weird like stopping halfway through the day.

Finally, you have to figure out how much food and water the party has consumed. If the party moved at a slow pace all day, allow each of them to make a check against the Forage DC. If the party didn’t move slowly all day but never moved at a fast pace at all, have each make a Forage check with Disadvantage or a -4 penalty. If anyone fails, that means the party didn’t find enough food to feed themselves. Each failure requires someone to consume one pound of food from their supply (one day worth of rations). You can generally assume that, as long as anyone succeeds at foraging, the party turned up enough water to refill their waterskins and drink their fill. But if they are traveling through a desert, you can modify that. If everyone fails to forage, however, they drain their waterskins and are now out of water. If their waterskins were already drained and they don’t have a backup supply, they are now dehydrating.

That whole process should be pretty quick. You roll for Navigation and determine if they are lost and then mark off the progress if they aren’t. Then, everyone rolls a forage checks and marks off food. Done and done. Now, it’s time for the night.

The Night
Some groups get absolutely bogged down in details about who is taking what watch shift and when. This is completely ludicrous. It really doesn’t matter. There are enough hours in the night that a party of any size can all get a good night sleep and still have a watch rotation with each character taking a shift. If the party really wants to fight about it or someone refuses to take watch or someone takes extra shifts because they are an elf and require less sleep, fine. So be it. But otherwise, just assume that everyone takes a watch sometime.

Now, you play out the nighttime encounters. Remember the possibilities for detection and ambush. Roll randomly to determine who is awake on watch for each encounter. Play them out. If no encounters happen, the night passes uneventfully. Hooray.

When the party wakes up, you do it all again.

Being Lost
So, what happens when the party is lost? Well, you can handle it a few ways. The easy way is to assume that each day of travel doesn’t count as any progress. When the party makes camp, log zero progress. However, you should still have the navigator roll a check. Well, you should roll secretly. If this check succeeds, the navigator will recognize that the party has become lost the next morning as the party is starting to set out. Otherwise, the party will just continue to make no progress every day.

However, you can handle it a few other ways. First of all, if the party travels in one direction long enough, they are going to discover an unexpected feature. They will hit a river, a new type of terrain, a lake, a road. If you drew a map, determine randomly what they will hit and where they will hit it or just pick something. Assume they travel in a straight line in a random direction from the middle of whatever terrain or route they were in. Again, use your best judgment.

Likewise, if the party knows the trip should have taken three to five days, and they hit day seven, they are going to realize they are lost.

Alternatively, each day that they travel while lost, roll a d6 when logging their progress. On a 1, they managed to travel in the right direction and log progress normally. On a 5 or 6, they are losing ground and subtract however much progress they would have made based on their route. For anything else, add no progress.

Once the party realizes they are lost, either because they hit a feature they shouldn’t have or because they realized they have been traveling too long or because the navigator figured out they got lost somewhere, they need to figure out a new plan. They might pick a direction they know will lead them to something (“we’ll head north until we find the river” or “we’ll keep traveling in this direction until we find the edge of the forest”), they might try to find a landmark to make toward (“we know that mountain peak is to the southeast, if we keep toward it, we should be able to find our way back to the road” or “can I climb a tree and see if I can spot the lake from here”), or they might try to backtrack (“can we follow our own trail back home?”). You can resolve each of those simply by assuming the party starts a new route and figuring it out accordingly. At this point, the party is no longer lost on the new route. The important thing is that the party can’t just get unlost. They need to have an alternative plan once they are lost. Otherwise, they will just keep wandering.

Random Encounters
When designing random encounters, it’s important to note a few things.

First of all, random encounters represent all of the potential dangers and hazards an area might present to travelers. It is not just a list of combat encounters. In fact, even when it is a list of encounters, it is a list of potential encounters. Remember, the party might evade an encounter. Or the encounter might evade the party. And you don’t even have to assume every encounter is hostile although I advise against using random encounters for friendly encounters. Bandits might be willing to let the party go for a price, especially if the party looks powerful and they aren’t sure of the odds. Some monsters might ignore the party if the party throws some food at them before retreating. Orcs might trade threats and insults with the party in social interACTION!, with each side trying to get the other to back down and go away. Some animals might merely threaten the party and try to frighten them away from their nest or other territory. Random encounters can also represent hazards. Quicksand in swamps, flash floods in hills and badlands, booby traps in kobold territory. They can also be obstacles like rockfalls across a road or a washed out bridge.

In general, the party should deal to one to two of them a day unless they start wandering through very dangerous territory. And that means that three days of travel is roughly equivalent to a short dungeon adventure. Keep that in mind as you plan. Your encounters should be interesting, but not complicated. Focus on single creatures or small groups of identical creatures. And, honestly, instead of a list of encounters, you can just have a small bestiary of creatures you can mix and match easily to get the results you want. In goblin territory, you can get a lot of mileage by mixing and matching goblin skirmishers, goblin archers, and giant spider pets in different combinations.

The one thing to keep in mind though is that the party will have the opportunity to rest and recover more frequently in the wild and will probably encounter fewer encounters than a typical dungeon day. To compensate, it’s important to skew your combat encounters toward the hard end of the difficulty curve. Use the guidelines in your particular edition of D&D or Pathfinder to up the difficulty. Hard should be the baseline difficulty for wilderness encounters to keep them meaningful.

Discoveries
It can be tough to come up with discoveries on the fly. But, the party should only encounter one or two during an entire trip unless they are wandering through an ancient kingdom lousy with ruins. Discoveries are basically just encounters that somehow bait the party into checking them out. But most of them should offer some kind of reward. Either something interesting or something valuable or both. An old ruined tower with an intact cellar, for example, might have a strongbox in the basement with some money and other trinkets, but it might be protected by a booby trap. Or something living in the cellar. An ancient shrine might reward an offering with a minor blessing or boon and might punish anyone taking from the offering bowl. These discoveries are your chance to give the players something to interact with if they are willing to waste time. Remember, if the rat survives the trap, he ends up with some free cheese for his trouble. You’ll need one or two discoveries for every three days of travel, more than likely. But it’s always good to have a pile of them in case you ever need one on the fly.

A Few Tweaks for 5E
As a final note, I need to point out that D&D 5E does a few things that absolutely f$&% up any chance of having good, engaging wilderness travel fun. First of all, the basic encumbrance rules that assume you can carry 15 times your Strength without breaking a sweat completely removes any difficulty in carrying food and supplies. I suggest you use the variant rules for encumbrance on PHB 176. Second of all, drop all that activity while traveling bulls$&%. It disguises nonchoices as choices and drags out the process of setting out. Assume the party will always forage if moving slow enough and that everyone is always paying attention. My system is streamlined to skip a lot of bookkeeping until the end of the day. Likewise, D&D 5E is VERY generous with foraging. F$&% that too. And, while we’re on the subject, some classes and backgrounds have features that also completely ruin any engagement to be gotten from travel. The Outlander background in particular offers the Wanderer feature that amounts to never getting lost and always foraging for an entire party. Replace that with a mechanical bonus to Navigation and Foraging. Like, the Ranger class feature Natural Explorer trivializes absolutely every aspect of wilderness travel, virtually guaranteeing that it becomes a Final Fantasy game of just plodding through random encounters and not sweating anything else. And much of it is tied to the specific, boring rules of overland travel baked into 5E. Instead, change it to having Advantage on Navigation (so that if the party moves at a fast pace, that cancels the Disadvantage), having Advantage on Perception while traveling (so that if the party moves at a fast pace, yaddah yaddah yaddah), and foraging yielding enough food for a second person (basically covering one other party member’s failure).

Resources
The fourth factor that drives travel is the availability of resources. In wilderness terrain, resources generally represent food and water, the staples for survival. Lush wilderness, including meadows, forests, flatlands, and hills provide a bounty for travelers. Everything from berries, nuts, fruit, and roots to small game like rabbits and game birds. Realistically speaking, in such terrain, its conceivable that a party can forage enough water to keep their skins and bellies full and enough food to survive on a day to day basis. But it is by no means assured. Barren wilderness can be a bit crueler. Rough hills, badlands, and tundra can make foraging much harder. And, obviously, deserts and wastelands yield almost nothing.

But there are other factors to consider as well. Resources are a bit more complicated. First of all, while civilized lands tend to actually yield less game as animals tend to avoid populated areas and the mere act of building roads can disrupt and divert game trails, most traveled roads provide other resources for travelers. Roadside inns and farming homesteads can provide food, water, and shelter in return for some coin. Or a few hours of chores. However, we’ll talk about how to implement that at the end of this article.

However, the fantasy element can also effect the resources available in a terrain. See, the savage goblin forest is still effectively a civilized region. It’s just civilized by evil goblins. And they and their spider friends might have suppressed the game and driven a lot of other creatures out of the forest. Orcs might have overhunted their barrens to the point where game is scarce. Animals might avoid the haunted barrows because they are smart enough to avoid areas that have “haunted” right in the name. And the water in such a region might be spoiled. A fey forest might be rich and abundant, offering up ample fruit and roots and berries for hungry traveler.

Obviously, all of this is supplemental to what the players can carry themselves. The D&D 5E DMG, for example, indicates that a person needs about one pound of food and one gallon of water every day. Given that a waterskin weighs 5 lbs. when its full, it probably holds about half a gallon (a gallon of water weighs almost 9 lbs.) The smart traveler carries two full skins (10 lbs) and refills them whenever they can in the wild. So, they are always carrying 10 lbs. of water. That means for every day of travel, a PC has to carry a pound of food. This is something encumbrance rules SHOULD use to create a tradeoff between carrying extra food or relying on the bounty of the land. We’ll come back to that too. Because D&D 5E especially s$&%s the bed here.

Discoveries
The final factor is a very interesting factor. This is the reason that I brought up Dragon Quest VIII above. And it’s one you might be familiar with if you’ve played any of the sprawling, choking, sandbox games by Bethesda like Skyrim or Fallout. This is the pull-you-off-the-road-by-your-own-curiosity factor of being able to spot interesting things that you want to check out. See, the world fantasy world of D&D is an old world and many empires have risen and fallen on its sprawling surface. And that means that there’s always some random little half-collapsed tower or old gate house or ancient foundation or henge or mausoleum or something waiting just over the next rise. And it is also a world of magic, which means there’s always some stand of enchanted trees with purple leaves or magical waterfall coming out of a portal in thin air or something to be found as well.

The thing that NEVER happens along the road – and a thing that SHOULD happen – is that the party should spot something weird in the distance and debate checking it out. I’m not talking about discovering entire goddamned dungeons, but that’s certainly possible too. I’m talking about spotting the ruined foundation of some old castle that has a small treasure in it. Or a nasty monster. Or both. Or a plaque with a weird point of interest about the world. Or a shrine whose offering bowl is still intact and has a couple dozen ancient coins in it. There should be curiosities to pull the party off the road. There should be something enticing the players to ignore all the other factors and waste extra time in the wilderness.

[A球]

Rangers are just a bunch of hunters, animals lovers, and park officers, aren’t they? Where could the history in this class really go? I originally thought that this would be a simple question, and would not have much depth, but I was grossly mistaken. Rangers go as far back as land ownership. As long as we designated ownership over a part of land, humans have always wanted to have someone patrolling it, making sure no one violates it!

The origins of the word and its use are nebulous, but it seems like it started as Regardatores, from the Charter of the Forest in 1217. I won’t delve much into the details, but what was important was that it distinguished land for the public, and land for the royalty. The contention over forest and land was as hot as oil is for people of our days: it was the prime resource for income! What I found was that the word “regard” was originally to inspect or keep order of a particular lot of land, so that your lot was still fruitful, and that no one was coming into it, taking your potential revenue. The people assigned these specific lots of lands were the Regardatores. These documents have gone through many revisions and edits, and it seems that, somewhere around 1314, the people assigned these tasks were given a sort of shorthand title as “Rangers”. A French word, “range” comes from keeping order, but of a specific area. It comes as no surprise that the original title was simply too long for routine use, and that a slang emerged for those that regard the ranges.

Borders

When I looked into the French rangers, it started to make sense why they were so necessary: most of the French borders rely on mountains. The Alps, Pyrenees, Jura mountains, Ardennes, Vosges, Massif Central, and many more litter the country. If you have people like the rangers protecting the borders of your country, it is more than likely that they will be needed at these naturally fortified positions. It would be the rangers job to patrol the border lines and ensure no one crosses it. Over time, the ranger would become familiar with the climate and routines of that region.

With that familiar knowledge comes a cost: you were likely in isolation. In times with little to no connection to the rest of the world, a mountain quite literally separated you from the globe. Cities within France were separated from the wild world past the mountains, and the person keeping a watchful eye on that border was the ranger. If you wanted to adventure out, to hunt, or explore the wild, you would likely hire their service, as they were most familiar with the borders! Having likely been in isolation for some time, the ranger would also not be as socialized as the civilian, so this might add to the intrigue and social awkwardness about the ranger. They would seem all the more unpredictable and wild, just like the rest of the world, the rangers were another animal of the wild outside world.

Animals

The primary resource of your lots of land were the crops and animals. Going hunting was quite the past time, and nobles wanted to ensure that you had something to hunt! As a rich noble, your ranger would ensure no one stole your game, and they could help teach you how to find it when you wanted to. Looking through artistic depictions, it is common to see someone herding animals like deer to be slaughtered, encouraging dogs to hunt down the prey, or leading a group of horses.

I imagine the ranger would then develop into two means of coping with animal hunting: seeing the animals as prey, or seeing them as another part of nature, like themselves. In games like Dungeons and Dragons (D&D), we see archetypes of the hunter and beast master become the dominant choices, and this makes sense. Rangers would have to cope with hunting and killing animals by either seeing them as some sort of living thing that is below them in nature, or connect with animals in terms of nature, living along with them. Anyone who has gone hiking can relate to the thrill of stumbling upon a wild animal, and retaining that experience for the rest of their life, perhaps expressing it in a painting or story. In a similar way, anyone who has gone hunting can relate to the anticipation and thrill of getting a kill, keeping a trophy of the adventure to be the center piece of your tale. I’m not interested in debating one as better than another, but I do think that these are two primary ways that a human, in a rangers position, would likely have to see animals.

Dangerous

Considering that rangers had to be able to exercise physical dominance over animals and humans in their ranges, they had to be rather deadly. Not only would they be the wild and unpredictable wards of woods, but they would have to be experts with weapons. They were the first line of defense for your border, and often by themselves or a small group.

One of the most famous group of rangers is in the 17th to 19th century, when North America was a fun time for violence and land disputes. As a ranger, if you weren’t working for the colonial government in the south, you were likely a hunter in the north. Both required a sense of wildness and violence in a foreign world, with developing contention over land ownership.

Knowlton’s Rangers were a group of soldiers for George Washington, and their duties were quite clear: maintain the borders and go on reconnaissance missions in New England, the north eastern tip of the United States. I think this is where the sense of elite soldiers originated, as they were given very specific and rather esoteric tasks to accomplish, often regarded as the first intelligence organization of the United States.

With the new world also came a lot more resources to take advantage of, namely animals like bison. People like William Cody would be hired to hunt for bison in a specific range, and to supply the nearby cities. If you were exceptionally good at it, you might get yourself a nickname like “Buffalo Bill”. Couple your hunting prowess with a performance show like “Buffalo Bill’s Wild West” and your name elevates to legend. Not only was Buffalo Bills hunting skills shown off, but the performance of his tales enhanced the sense of wild and dangerous adventures that someone going outside the safety of your borders might encounter.

Fantasy

So how does this all tie into a game like D&D? I think Tolkien helped bring us there, when he decided that the people who would protect various parts of Middle Earth were to be called Rangers. The two major groups, Rangers of the North and the Rangers of Ithilien, were organized by Dúnedain. Their duties were to primary keep order, and to guard these regions of the world. Thanks to the fame of these rangers, we now have the archetypes of rangers in games like D&D, where we find the wild and dangerous characters, who are connected to nature, and the world.

Aragorn, being a Ranger of the North, was a fantastic model Ranger. We first meet him as Strider, which is fitting because the word itself means to move and fight. Throughout the story we see him change from someone who fights with his identity in the world. Strider emerges into Aragorn, who is much easier to relate to, being a hopeful and optimistic person. He begins to find his place in the world, willing to lead and help others, thanks to the Fellowship. At first, it seems that his sense of being is entirely reliant on Elendil’s sword Narsil, believing that this will unify his people and perhaps his own sense of self. Having some connection to the Elves, and to the Dunedain, he also bears remarkable wisdom and magic. He heals Faramir, another fellow Ranger, and we begin to truly see a character emerge that can be a king: King Elessar Telcontar.

From an outsider to King, I think it easy to feel able to fantastize about being someone like Aragorn. We have all seen ourselves outside of society, slowly emerging into it, and hopefully one day becoming a notable figure within it.

The rangers grim appearance, affinity to animals, and mysterious behaviour feels like a direct reflection of the world itself. Through characters like Buffalo Bill and Aragorn, we now have this ranger archetype, who has seen the world that we haven’t. Yet, we want to explore the wild world, to see what adventures it holds for us, to take us from the safety of our borders, to grow and experience the world.

[A球]

It was our 11th hour, we'd hounded the streets for days trying to round up cult agents and get information out of them.

We found out the plague was already in most of the food and water, as they had been at it for months, but a ritual needed to be completed for it to become active.

The cultists were hard to break, and our group (generally not the nicest folks) wanted to torture it out of them. Naturally, Sir Peter was opposed.

"We can't preserve freedom while denying it to others. It's not right, we can't do it, and I won't allow it."
Chris wasn't being a dick, he was just playing the character. As much as our characters might not have liked it, we as players were having lots of fun. The added drama really worked.

We managed to capture a high priest of the cult, someone responsible for conducting the ritual in this part of the land. It turns out the ritual needed to be conducted at the same time in several parts of the kingdom at once, in order to deliver the maximum effect.

We need to know the other locations, or else all our efforts would have just saved one northern barony and not the whole land. He gave us no choice but to beat it out of him.

Sir Peter wanted no part of this: "If you're going to treat a man like some animal for the slaughter, then don't expect me to sit by and watch." He then stormed out, and let us carry on in our work.

We'd been at it hours, and we couldn't get the guy to crack. He just wouldn't tell us anything. He was covered in cuts, had lost a toe at our hands, was dripping in his own blood, but still won't give us want we needed. We were going to give up and try another method, when all of a sudden, our doorway darkens and in walks Sir Peter. He's wearing nothing but his tunic and pants, unarmed, bar for a half drank jug of some form of strong booze in hand.

In steps into the room and announces:

"If you're going to do this, do it right..."
He walks over to the bound cultist, tosses aside his bottle, lifts the chair and sits in front of the beaten man.

Sir Peter:

"I don't want to hurt you, I just need to know the locations of your brethren, then this can be all over for you, I will make sure you are safe and cared for."
Cultist:

"Ha! I know who you are, Sir Peter Fairgrave; kingdom breaker, runaway child, father slayer. You can't threaten me: I know what you are. Your order, your God won't allow you to lay your hands on me, otherwise you'll fall, and you won't be able to help a soul."
Sir Peter:

*sighs* "You seem to be under the misconception about what I am, what I do. I am a paladin, that is true; but as a paladin I don't fear falling... I look forward to it."
The cultist shot a nervous look at the rest of the party, we were all looking at each other, not sure what was about to happen. The cultist opened his mouth to speak, but Sir Peter cut him off.

Sir Peter:

"As a paladin, I walk on a razor's edge. Not between good and evil, I could never be something like you, but between "law" and "justice". The "law" I follow doesn't permit me to harm you, but I could be "justified" in anything I did to you in order to save innocent lives. ANYTHING!"
"You don't know what it is like to be me. You don't know the pain of having to store all your anger, all your fury, all your sense of justice, and hold it inside you, all day every day for the rest of your life. Doing the right thing doesn't mean I get to stop all evil, I just get to trim it when it becomes overgrown. The path I walk is not about vengeance, or what's right; it's about moderation in the face of power, restraint and compassion for scum like you.
"This is why paladins don't fear falling. We don't spend all day looking for ways to prevent ourselves from doing evil and giving in to the darkness -- we actively seek it out. Every time we face evil, we ask ourselves, 'Is this the threat that I'm going to give it all up for? Is this what I am going to give up my ability to help others in the future, in order to bring it down now. Is this the evil that I am willing to forsake my God and my power to stop?!'".
At this point, he stands up suddenly and swings his arm against the chair he was sitting on. Sending it flying and shattered against a wall, he then kicks over the chair the cultist was sitting on, he leaps and straddles his chest, flinging him about for a few seconds in pure rage, before calming once more.

He looks the cultist straight in the face, both their noses just inches from each other.

"What you should be asking yourself now, what you really need to be thinking about, is: 'Is what I'm doing something that will make this guy want to fall?' Because you should know that once I fall, all those rules which protect you from me are gone. No longer will I be able to be stopped by you, or by my order, or by my God. If I give everything, and I mean give everything, I will never stop. If you escape me today, I will hunt you down and grab you into the pits of hell myself. Even if that means that I have to invoke the wrath of every demon in creation, just so they throw open a pit and drag me down where I stand, because when they do drag me down, I will make sure that my fists are wrapped firmly around your ankles and you go down with me. I want you to listen to me now, and I mean really listen, because Hell truly hath no fury like a paladin scorned."
"So I ask you, one last time: tell me where the other rituals are being held, or I swear to all on high that I will fall, and fall hard, just so I can show you what it is that paladin truly keeps his code in order to hold back..."
At this point the player, Chris, just stops talking and looks at us. We are all kind of stunned by his speech, naturally.

He just picks up a D20, looks at the DM and says "I wish to roll intimidate."

[A球]

CW前哨能出第三季令人意外，HBO守望者设定难以取悦国内观众倒完全是情理之中

介于暴雪家diablo系列职业译名相当混乱，这里特地给出历代职业名称表以供查询
diablo1: fighter, wizard, rogue
diablo2: amazon, assasin, necromancer, barbarian, paladin, sorceress, druid
diablo3: barbarian, crusader, monk, demon hunter, witch doctor, necromancer
diablo4: barbarian, sorceress, druid
so the 2 mistery classes fill in the gap for paladin/crusader (holy warrior with armor) and rogue/amazon/demon hunter (bow/crossbow/ranged)
And of course in blizzard fashion, add an expansion pack (or 5) that is the same price as the entire diablo 4, but adds 10% content, such as a new character... necromancer?

死亡搁浅真香，想玩！不过这游戏用kg记重还蛮怪的

＊随机书籍生成器
http://dndspeak.com/2019/06/random-book-generator/

[A球]

THE OLD WORLD
The Old World is vast. Once all of its many islands were part of a single continent but some ancient catastrophe changed all that. From above the Old World looks like a comet, one large roughly circular landmass with a long tail of smaller islands streaming out from it. The Old World enjoys a temperate but dry climate. Droughts are common, and food shortages used to be the main cause of conflict between the hundreds of petty warlords.

All of this changed when a baby washed up on the shore over a thousand years ago. His name was Mordred and war was in his blood. His early years were spent running with gangs, his teens leading them. By fourteen he was a warlord in his own right, by eighteen he had one of the most feared armies known. By twenty, he claimed himself King. History of this time is sketchy but it seems likely that Mordred did not achieve all of this unaided. A detailed study of the histories reveals references to a female advisor and several scholars quietly suspect it was her and not Mordred who came up with the revolutionary tactics and armour that made his forces unbeatable in combat. Such thoughts are never spoken aloud however, and since the time of King Melehan all of the original texts of the time have been locked away.

Currently the Old World is ruled by King Mordred IV, who has spent most of his long reign at war with an alliance of warlords called the Iron Freedom. This war has led to severe shortages, civil unrest, riots and a rise in criminals on the roads. King Mordred has fed his campaign through crippling taxes and kept order with curfews, tough laws and severe punishments.

Consequently, life in the Old World is tough, with little room for people to improve their circumstances. The rich struggle to keep hold of their treasures, the poor struggle to eat. The King’s measures keep complete collapse at bay but do nothing to alleviate the misery that fills the lives of most citizens.

By contrast to Albion, the Old World is without magic. There are no demons, no dragons, no giant beasts of legend. It is a grey place, where most people live out their lives in obscurity, too focused on surviving the day to plan for the future, though in the brief moment between toil and sleep, a brave few dream of something better.


2000 YEARS AGO
Albion is a wild place where humans struggle to survive. They live in simple tribes, scavenging a living while trying to avoid bigger predators - the dire beasts, giants, and worst of all, the destructive and tyrannical dragons.
1800 YEARS AGO
Albion is ruled by fearsome dragons. In the shadow of these tyrannical creatures, the first humans begin to attune themselves to the magic of the land, becoming druids. They make an accord with the giants of Albion, enabling the various tribes of humanity to flourish. The greatest of the giants come together with the first druids to work a great magic, forcing the dragons to sleep. The ravaged land soon recovers, and the humans and giants together guard the dragons' resting places, naming themselves Albion’s Keepers.
1600 YEARS AGO
A druid rises who is unlike the others. Some say he has gained secret knowledge by eavesdropping on the dragons' dreams, others that he has talked to other creatures, deep in the bowels of the earth. His name is Merlyn and he has a dream of uniting the tribes. His message is simple: One day the dragons will wake, and on that day, the world must be ready. Never again can Albion be allowed to fall under the dragons' rule.
1500 YEARS AGO
Though the druids do not approve of Merlyn, they do not oppose him either and he is able to start uniting the tribes under one leader. He approaches the witch Morgana for help and she crafts the mighty Excalibur, a weapon so powerful that it will make whoever wields it into Albion’s king. It is the first time that metal is mined and forged in Albion. Excalibur is the first sword, born of steel and magic. Unknown to Merlyn, the secrets of its making are given to Morgana by demons who whisper to her from across the void.

Together Merlyn and Morgana begin to recruit from the lesser tribes, gifting them metal armor and powerful magic weapons. The first knights are created. The greatest of them is given Excalibur and named king. They quickly establish themselves as a new power in Albion, ruling from the castle of Camelot.
1300 YEARS AGO
For many years, the kings of Albion rule wisely and well. Merlyn and Morgana guide them, establishing codes of honor and chivalry. It is an age of great prosperity.

And then: disaster strikes. A great red dragon, Dauthir, rises from its slumber, roaring for those nearby to join it. King Uther leads the knights of Camelot to battle, supported by Merlyn and Morgana. There is an epic battle that turns the sky black for three days. When the sunlight finally finds its way to Albion again, it shines on a victorious Camelot. The Dauthir and the lesser dragonlings it summoned have been slain and the remaining dragons continue to sleep undisturbed. Albion is safe once more, but there has been a cost: in order to deliver the killing blow, Uther has sacrificed himself, leaving no recognized heirs.

This leaves the survivors in a strange position. The immediate threat is gone and they have no natural leader. Merlyn searches the land for illegitimate offspring while Morgana suggests her own son as an alternative.
Unfortunately, they cannot agree on a suitable candidate and Merlyn steals Excalibur, giving it to Arthur and declaring him ruler of Albion. Furious at this betrayal, Morgana and her followers rise up in opposition and the humans of Albion have their first, and worst civil war.
1280 YEARS AGO
Sensing that the battle is too evenly matched, Merlyn goes to the Keepers of Albion and shows them the devastation the war is bringing to the land. Hiding his own hand in things, he convinces them that Morgana is the biggest threat to the land Albion has faced since the dragons and convinces them to aid his cause.

Morgana and her forces are immediately forced to retreat and, too proud to accept defeat, she uses dark magic to call for aid. She is answered by the demons who offer their help in exchange for entry into the world. Morgana accepts, tearing open a gateway to hell. With her new demonic allies, she is more than a match for Merlyn.
1260 YEARS AGO
After years of war, Merlyn realizes that neither side can easily win and that as the demons spill out into the world, Albion itself is likely to be destroyed. While Arthur leads his knights towards the final battle, Merlyn convinces his apprentices to perform a powerful ritual that will sacrifice the knights and restore peace. He doesn’t tell them it will also result in their deaths.

As the battle reaches its most frantic, the ritual begins and Merlyn takes Excalibur and shatters it. The resulting explosion kills most of the knights on both sides, and casts the demons back across the void; they drag a screaming Morgana with them as they go.
Merlyn himself vanishes, the oldest of the giants return to the earth and all of Albion is shrouded in mist, sealing it off from the rest of the world. Most of the continent starts to recover, except for those places where the ritual's magic was most powerful.

But Morgana had one last trick to play. As she realised her doom was imminent, she ordered one of her high priestesses to flee, taking with her a trove of secret knowledge and her newborn child in the hopes that they would one day return to Albion and find a way to bring her back.
200 YEARS AGO
For over a millennium things have been peaceful in Albion. The demon wars are only remembered in campfire stories. The few survivors of Morgana’s cult hide in the shadows, biding their time.

Meanwhile the baby that crossed the waters has become a conqueror and founded a line of kings and queens. The ancient secrets they took with them are locked in an old library, all but forgotten.
15 YEARS AGO
The magical mists surrounding Albion begin to fade, allowing a group of explorers to discover it. They report to their King across the sea. The King knows nothing of his ancestral history or Albion’s, but he recognises a new land, rich in resources that his war-torn nation sorely needs.

As the mists weaken, they reveal parts of Albion still scarred by the old war. Skeletons in ancient armor rise once more and wander the land. Most of them are mindless, tragic things, still trying to fight a war that ended long ago. Where the knights have been reduced to walking corpses, Merlyn’s apprentices were transformed into Harvesters, bitter shades that hunger constantly for fresh souls.

At this time, Morgana’s cult begins to stir, looking for a chance to restore their lost glory.
12 YEARS AGO
The King sends an expedition to Albion. It is mainly made up of criminals and enemies of the throne. They begin to set up rudimentary settlements.
8 YEARS AGO
Albion is not kind to the newcomers. Many die, killed by foxes and wolves, by angry tribesmen and hungry giants. The survivors soon fall to infighting. Some are recruited by the Disciples of Morgana. They scrape together simple versions of magic and crafting used by the other factions, but the poorly channeled magics slowly drive them mad. The leader of the colony wanders off one night claiming to have ‘heard voices’ and returns a changed man, proclaiming himself to be a Heretic. Shortly afterwards, all contact with the new colonies is lost.
5 YEARS AGO
The King sends a large contingent of Royal Expeditionary Forces to secure a foothold in Albion. They take a significant chunk of coastline and erect a great wall to artificially create a safe space within Albion. In truth this space is not actually safe but the Royal Forces do their best to patrol it and impose the King’s law where they can.
1 YEAR AGO
The colonies are deemed safe enough for civilians. The King allows people to petition for a charter to go to Albion and seek their fortune.

[A球]

Much of the interior of Tazeem is an ever-expanding reef-rock forest. The formations of brittle rock are similar to a coral reef: branching plateaus, spiny towers, bristly fringes, and stratified layers with deep crevices and sun wells. This reef-rock forms in pale yellows, greens, and blues. The reef-rock is porous and pockmarked, and water drips through these crevices and holes. The rock itself is infused with magical properties and is continually expanding and growing, like a coral reef, although the rock itself isn't alive. These reef-rocks can grow up to 100 feet tall and merge with surrounding reefs to form stratified plateaus that are hundreds of miles wide and tall.

Giant trees and other vegetation grows on this reef-rock—on top of the plateaus, surrounding the spiny formations, deep in the sun wells—wherever it can get even a small amount of light and water. The plants send out a mat of roots and engulf the rock so that in many places the rock isn't visible through the undergrowth. The forest takes the shape of the rock below it, making bizarre shapes and silhouettes. Because of the scarcity of direct sunlight, the vegetation grows explosively fast whenever sunlight does manage to reach it. Known as Em's Blessing, this explosive growth is both beautiful and dangerous. Animals and explorers can become caught and suffocated in the growth.

There are numerous pit caves all over Tazeem. These are deep vertical shafts that lead down to the swampy underground caves. Birds make their homes in the walls of these caves, and some elves carve deep indentations into the walls to make sheltering places that are safe from The Roil. Some pit caves still have reservoirs of fresh water at the bottom and these are outfitted with a pulley system to bring the water to the surface. Other pit caves are filled with a choking mist that leaks into the air, poisoning anything that ventures too close to the mouth of the shaft. The most dangerous pit caves are those that look innocuous but are actually geysers that blast boiling water into the air.

From its source at Halimar Sea to the northern edge of continent, the Umara River runs through a deep gorge and drops over 800 feet over a series of waterfalls. The fast-flowing water is dangerous to navigate and is mostly white-water rapids throughout its length. Hundreds of tributaries branch out from Umara and wind through the Oran-Rief, and these smaller rivers tend to be less tumultuous than the Umara.

The gorge acts as kind of a wind tunnel, and merfolk make gliders that they can use to glide down the gorge. These gliders aren't particularly practical, but some merfolk prefer them to the boats and portages. The Umara River Gorge is less affected by The Roil than anywhere else in Tazeem. Because of this, there are more settlements in the gorge and along portages than other places.

[A球]

The Church of Dusk has a rigidly hierarchical structure, headed by the Pontifex of Dusk. While Torrezon's church has elaborate ranks of supreme priests and cardinals, only three orders of clergy matter as far as the Legion of Dusk on Ixalan is concerned: the low-ranking deacons who assist the clerics; the clerics themselves, who perform most of the rituals of the church; and the bishops who oversee the clerics.

The precepts of the church are relatively simple, summarized in three points:

Blood Is Holy. It is the bringer of life. It is the vessel of vitality. It is the reminder of one's mortality. It is the proof of one's lineage.
The Sinking Sun. Salvation has a cost. Just as the sun must set to allow for a new dawn, a person can turn to darkness if it will bring about the coming salvation.
The Promised Age of Ever-Flowing Blood. The legend of the Immortal Sun ignited a new notion in the church—reclaiming the artifact will bring true eternal life to those who have turned to vampirism, replacing the shadowed but everlasting existence of the undead.
Every order of knights and company of conquistadors has at least one embedded member of the clergy. These clerics fulfill a variety of functions: serving as emissaries, tending the wounded, and bringing down the holy wrath of the church. They can be identified by their flowing robes.

The Blood Fast

Vampires sometimes abstain from feasting on blood in a holy sacrament called the Blood Fast. Over time, the fasting vampire's acute hunger actually leads to a state of hyper-awareness.

Vampires in this state are utterly terrifying, for with their heightened senses comes a mad fury that the church has declared to be the purest form of pious devotion.

Invocation of the Venerables

The Venerables of the church are its saints—dead vampires who are held up as paragons of church ideals. Devout vampires often call upon the power of a Venerable through the use of relics, which might include a weapon, a piece of armor, a lock of dry hair, a tooth, or even a finger bone that formerly belonged to the Venerable.

Glorifiers

Some vampire clerics, called Glorifiers, specialize in bestowing the blessings of the church to bolster the pious. Their benedictions can knit grievous injuries and inspire the faithful. They make extensive use of blood in their rituals, often bestowing their blessings through blood poured into ornate chalices. On the battlefield, they can draw strength from blood shed in combat and share that strength among their allies.

Condemners

Condemners wield the power to punish those who do not recognize the righteous authority of the church, imposing the church's full wrath. Their maledictions can wither flesh, summon darkness, corrupt the land, sap spiritual energy, and even extract the blood of their enemies through pores and tear ducts. Some Condemners can inspire crippling fear through the power of their gazes.

A specialized order of Condemners, the Shade-Binders, capture and magically bind undead spirits composed of darkness, using blessed braziers that exude inky black smoke. These spirits guard ships when the conquistadors have disembarked, and they are sometimes bound to vampire weapons.
The Vanishing. After Memnarch's soul traps were destroyed, many of Mirrodin's original inhabitants disappeared from Mirrodin. The Tangle's population was decimated. Almost all of the remaining trolls, half of the elves, and a third of the humans disappeared without a trace. Families were torn apart. Parts of the forest became deserted. Already traumatized by the leveler attacks, the elves' culture all but collapsed. They became defensive, hiding in trees and sending out parties to try and locate their missing kin.

The Viridian Resurgents. The Viridian elves who remain believe they survived the Vanishing because they have a mission: They must restore nature to its pure form and cast off the shackles of the past. Before the Fifth Dawn, the Viridian elves lived in an ordered, hierarchical society based around the Tel-Jilad Chosen. In time they became akin to "eco-terrorists," willing to commit violence against any threat to their definition of the "natural world." On Mirrodin, what is considered the "natural world" is a matter of some debate, but there is no hesitation in the elves' philosophy. They believe they have the truth, and anyone who disagrees with them is a threat to nature and their mission to cultivate a pure, wild society.

Anti-technology. They see the vedalken's experimentation- and knowledge-driven society as a destructive force that separates them from the natural world. As they witness the rise of lamina in the Tangle, they come to believe that metal isn't the true state of being, and flesh is closer to a natural state. The Resurgents want to destroy anything that inhibits their pure connection with the natural world. Under the leadership of the charismatic Ezuri, they embark on a mission to destroy the myr, the vedalken, and anything else they deem unnatural. They believe civilization is a means to control and must be stopped.

Gades. Once the Viridians rejected the hierarchy of the Tel-Jilad, they organized themselves into voluntary brigades. The vedalken derisively call the elves "renegades," so when the Viridian elves organized themselves into groups, they co-opted the term and shortened it to "gade." They have become more militaristic, but in the name of preserving and cultivating the natural world. The gades go on missions throughout Mirrodin, destroying vestiges of the "old" civilization, hunting down Memnarch's artifact creatures, tracking golems and destroying them, and throwing monkey wrenches into "civilized" cultures.

Spirit fires. Some Viridian elves still burn spirit fires at night. These fires are burned in special braziers, with the fuel being powdered verdigris and animal fat. The spirit fires burn with a blue-green flame, with touches of yellow-white. (Copper chloride causes a fire to burn green-blue.) Spirit fires are meant to honor the passing of the day, as well as the passing of life. They also ward away the larger hungry creatures of the Tangle.

Elvish gear. Viridian elves fight with weapons reminiscent of the trees' morphology (but not with amputated tree parts). Popular weapons include war fans, which are fanshaped blades that can be wielded like a scimitar or thrown. Whips made from the Tangle's cablevine are also used, including cat-o'-nine-tails whips. Javelins are also common. The Viridian elves' bows are powerful longbows of gleaming copper, with bowstrings of vorrac gut (see below for vorracs). The arrows are fletched with young vorrac quills. The effect of many Viridian archers firing at once sounds beautifully lethal—dozens of chimes, each with a different pitch, each from a different bow. It's been the death knell of more than a few invading warbands.

Cambree Garden. In the top "branches" closest to the green sun's light, the elves construct fortified gardens to protect and promote the new growth of the Cambree Garden. The largest fortified garden in the Tangle, it was built around a large field of gelfruit, a bioluminescent fruit, which remains a primary food source. The elves see this as nature rejuvenating itself now that the True Sun has dawned.

[A球]

West of Chomur, in a small valley, the Shaofeng outpost of Behow stands as a gate to the wonders of the Far West.  Though largely independent from the Shaofeng Kingdom, the Behoise conform strictly to imperial laws and religion, a fact that gains them few visitors from the east.

Due north of Behow, the legendary land of Sa'han claims the title of easternmost holding of the Shaofeng Kingdom.  Like the empire proper, magic is said to operate on different principles here, and the art of the Wu Jen is practiced widely, as is a complicated from of martial arts that is believed to have been the origin of the forms currently employed by the Scarlet Brotherhood.

Both Western Realms have been adamant in their hatred for the Suel, and while many, many refugees have managed to work their ways into western society, they do so primarily as low-caste workers or slaves.  The wars between these peoples are legendary, and animosity flows, still.

Aside from these realms, Shaofeng dominates much of the rest of the continent.  It is likely that an actual base of power, in fact called Shaofeng, exists, but the name is also applied to the greater realm as a whole, and it is all rather confusing. Adding to the difficulty of matters is the fact that the Shaofeng Emperor declares the entire western half of Oerik under his care, despite the less absolute reality of the matter.

The culture of the empire is quite foreign to that of the Flanaess, and places great importance upon mysticism and the elements.  This latter fact has caused the most arguments between the severe Shaofeng and the people of the east.  Aside from the Bakluni, whose entire system of belief and much of their culture hinges upon the importance and veneration of the elements, the Flanaess views the elements (air, oerth, fire and water, of course) simply as a given part of their everyday experience.  There are, certainly, eastern wizards who focus exclusively upon one of the four elements, and the followers of Telchur, Artroa, Sotillion and Wenta are often (incorrectly) viewed as elemental cults, but the elemental forces are not often considered by the average man of the Flanaess.

Not so with the Shaofeng, with whom the elements play, if possible, a more important role than they do in the Near West.  In fact, many of the mages of these western realms are tied intimately to their land, and the inability of their most powerful magi to venture far from the site of their personal elemental connection is often cited as the primary reason this otherwise technologically advanced race has not been able to make itself a serious presence east of the mountain ranges that bisect the continent.

Not only do the scholars of the west place greater importance upon the elements, they also disagree as to the nature of elemental power itself.  Westerners hold that, instead of the four elements generally acknowledged in the east, the multiverse is composed of five elements.  As proof, they offer the existence of the so-called "Imperial Dragons of Shaofang," apparently outer-planar dragons of largest size and power that come in a variety of five colors, each of which supposedly corresponds to one of the elements of the natural world (this relationship is further elucidated in Scholar Thu Kin Boh's extended treatise, Fo Ling-Ku (Elemental Structures),  currently on reserve in the University Library at Rel Mord).

Apparently, these Imperial Dragons each correspond to one of the western elements and are said to live within the elements themselves (whatever that means).  Because these creatures reside outside of the Prime Material plane, they visit worlds such as Oerth and her four sisters only when they so choose--or are summoned.  Golden is the color of the Fire Dragon, green that of Water, while blue is said to represent Air/Wind.  The Imperial Dragon of silvery hue is Metal, and that with a shade of violet is associated with Wood/Nature.

Eastern scholars scoff at the conception of the world as defined by five elements (they say that "metal" is clearly a product of Oerth, and that "nature," as a force of life, simply does not enter the equation).  Indeed, extra-planar travel seems to have assured that those of the east are correct, since beings have thusfar failed to locate a fifth elemental plane.  This brings up the intriguing possibility that the Imperial Dragons and spirits of the western elements do not allow Shaofeng sorcerers the ability to travel off-plane, thus proving the fault inherent to their entire system of belief.  Still, however, the Wu Jen (as most western mages are known) are a terribly powerful lot, and that power must come from somewhere.

It appears that this cult of elemental dragons extends to the boundaries of the Shaofeng Kingdom's vast empire (although, disturbingly, Nerull seems to hold some degree of influence, as well), just as do their strict and often draconian laws said to have been drafted over seven thousand years ago.

In fact, many of the Shaofeng colonies south of the great bay that intersects southwest Oerik are almost wholly independent from this rule, despite the wishes of the greater government.  Most prominent of these is the large theocracy known as Tsing-Chu.

There, a devoted caste of priests diligently follow the teachings of the god Khuzkan (a complicated figure who may or not be Pelor under a different guise), who implores them to scour the world, rewarding the actions of kind men and the dispatching of evil.  Of course, Khuzar conceptions of evil often vary significantly from the morality of the rest of western Oerik, and this alone has been the cause of several prolonged disputes.  The justice of Khuzar priests is swift and unflinching, and few understand what is happening to them before their sentence has been carried out.

Another spur in the side of Tsing-Chu's neighbors are the Tsongs, large groups of malign humans exiled from their homelands.  These men and women prey upon the shipping lanes of the southwest, and are an annoyance to the people of the south, who view them both as a subtle diplomatic weapon employed by the rulers of Tsing-Chu and as proof that the "sentencing" of the Khuzar priests is often less strict within the nation's own borders than it is without.

To the north, the Shaofeng have constructed the Wall of Tsian, a massive fortification separating Shaofeng from Darak Urtag, a formidable deterrent to anyone but the king of Darak Urtag.  The Imperium has begun another, even grander wall farther west.

Ryuujin:

A densely populated island nation of fishermen, warriors, and poets, Ryuujin is ruled by an emperor claiming lineage from a divine dragon, similar to the types of dragons the Shaofeng venerate. The emperor of Ryuujin is said to have absolute power and commands fierce loyalty, however it is believed that the real power of the nation comes from the many feudal lords known as shoguns. The shoguns are responsible for maintaining the armies of Ryuujin; fierce elite warriors known as samurai, as well as cadres of secretive stealth agents known as ninja (though if asked, no shogun will admit to having ninja in his employ). Ryuujin has a powerful navy and dominates the Sea of the Dragon King (named after their emperor), as well as the large peninsula extending south of Shaofeng and Zahind.

Other areas in Central Oerik:

 :arrow: The Baklien Khanates: The Baklien are a fierce nomadic warrior society, made up of Baklunish and Shaofeng ancestry. Their society is often referred to as the "High" and "Low" Khanates. The High Khanate is an arid land peopled by two tribes of sturdy nomads.  The inlanders resemble the horsemen of the Baklunish Basin, but on the coast they take to boats. The Low Khanate is a companion realm to the High Khanate; named more for its location in a deep vale below the mountains than for any inferior status.  A hidden valley reputedly contains the tombs of khans from both realms.

 :arrow: Darak Urtag: A nation of orcs ruled by a tyrannical king. The orcs seem to thrive under the brutal regime.

 :arrow: Mur: Technically part of the Baklunish West on the Flanaess, Mur borders the Gulf of Ghayar and includes a chain of tall mountains. The warm currents of the ocean join with the cold air blowing from Telchuria to the north to create a very wet land that includes a temperate rain forest. The rain forest spreads through the mountains themselves, along with many spectacular waterfalls. The lowlands are somewhat drier, and include several ports through which trade is conducted with the outside world.

The people of Mur are not Baklunish, nor are they a member of any of the other human sub-races known to the Flanaess. Rarely, a child of Mur will be born with four arms. This is considered a blessing of the nature spirits the people worship. Animals of Mur sometimes are born with the same trait, and the land is full of displacer beasts, kamadans, shensahti, and girallons. It is possible that all of these creatures originated in Mur. Those born with four arms are known as the obah-blessed, while those who offend the obahs become twisted, charred parodies of themselves and are known as the scorned.

The folk of Mur are plagued by their Komali neighbors, whose warlike ways force the population of Mur to dwell primarily in villages and cities built into the sides of the mountains.

The people of Mur worship the 3,000 obahs, a word they use for divine spirits believed to influence every aspect of their lives. Mur is home to the Order of the Shensites, a group of pacifist monks who withdraw from ordinary society in order to avoid the corruption of day-to-day existence. The Shensites are named for their patron obah, Shensi the Serpent.

Apart from Shensi, named obahs include Balim (actually an archdevil), Tektek the faithful, and Karkush, patron of girallons.

The nation of Mur is believed to be ruled by a divine monarch who rules from a hanging palace somewhere in the mountains.

Mur formerly traded with Zeif, but pirates and sea serpents have made trade routes to Mur unreliable.

 :arrow: Risay: Risay is a state on the Gulf of Ghayar. Diplomatic relations with Zeif extend back to the rule of Sultana Ismuyin the Wise (2529-2577 BH). Risay was ruled by an Imam. In 3186 BH, the government was overthrown. No information about subsequent government exists. Risay has been visited by Deshani, daughter of the sheik of Barakhat. Risay is now a sharifate, and we know it is south of Barakhat.

———————————————————————————————————————————————————————
While ancient legends envisaged that the Tharque Empire would endure forever, a black dawn rose with the appearance of the Magocracy of Obart, which created an army of walking corpses. As it crushed villages and towns before it, its army of the dead grew stronger. Destroying everything in their path, the demonic hordes supported by the endless stream of undead rose to the heart of the empire leaving behind ruins and flames. Thus the death knell of civilization was sounded.

However, the unthinkable occurred in the third province of the Tharque Empire. In Altenberg, which was still a small citadel at the time, the soldiers managed to stop the invasion of twice-born. For a month, when all seemed lost, the men and women, guided by the Light delivered a desperate fight for their lives and for the salvation of their souls. Born in the blood paid by the war, the Order of Light had come to be victorious. Then, little by little, hope blew over the ashes and ruins, sweeping everything in its path. In Sysigie an Archangel of Justice appeared, then in the rest of the empire afterward, the people raised their heads and fought. The Order of Light, the Knights of Justice, and the army which would become afterward the Imperial Army allied with the Dragonmasters and converged to deliver the ultimate battle, driving the necromancers away in the province of the Big South of Der Hem Shelbem.

The victors, having saved their way of life, then turned to the Oracle for guidance. In the center of what would become the empire was a vast plain, and in its center, surrounded by a disproportionately large mound, was chained the Oracle, knowing all but unable to do anything, ever sought, forever torn. At the heart of a huge fireball, he lies chained by the gods of fate for a forgotten crime. Only one can know his destiny, and it was the General of the victorious army. The Oracle predicted that he would become emperor and he would bring peace and prosperity. The Oracle promised to help each new emperor by revealing their coronation. This mortal, guided by the multiple voices describing a prophetic kingdom, would be able to better manage the empire.

Before his coronation had even concluded, this new emperor formed a covenant with two holy orders. This second pillar of the empire, more unsung than Oracle, was sealed between the god Rao and the empire. In the form of crystal tablets guarded by angels who only let humans approach them, these tablets of law were a very important assurance of protection from a demonic invasion of the empire. These tablets bring power and protection to the various religious orders who have decided to pray to Rao. In order to preserve them, the emperor made orders wall them up and in the exact place where they were began the most fabulous construction all the time, the Imperial City of Lynn. This compact, now forgotten, lies in a crypt beneath the throne of the emperor. It is based on these two major assets that the new emperor decided to raise the high banners of the double-headed eagle on a background of scarlet blood. The Empire of Lynn was born.

The story does not stop there. As one chapter ends, another begins. The rest of the Tharque Empire, who had ruled the known world for over a millennium, came to close on its original borders. The two most important orders are the Order of the Light and the Knights of Justice. The first one led a quest against all evil within the empire, marking any place bathed by the Light by castles. The Knights of Justice retired to Sysigie to heal its wounds. The time of the human beings had come. As for the other races, the dwarves are withdrawn in the city of Ghrunkedash, while the immortal elves, facing so many horrors before them, longed to decline and disappear in peace, leaving humans fight for an empire which, as all human empires would, disappear. To the north, barbarian invasions become more and more frequent, in the south, the kingdom of Khemit intended to draw riches from the thin possessions of this still weak empire. It is in this chaos arose the cult of the Black Moon. Built on the worship of the archmage Haazheel Thorn, this religion was threatened at first by the Order of the knights the Light. But this order benefited from a new magic, that of the menthats (a type of psion) and from the almost divine power of its founder. The latter, rather than respond to Order of Light, proved his membership to the Empire by helping the Baron of Moork definitively rule out a barbarian threat by retaking lands stolen by the Kingdom of Khemit. The emperor endorsed this new religion. The menthats were more numerous in the empire, some from the Black Moon.

The borders of the Empire of Lynn changed little. Centered physically and spiritually on the citadel of the Oracle, he saw the coronation of Haghendorf I. The stone mask of the Oracle speaks to all, but only Haghendorf can see its true face. After his coronation, this mortal, carrying only the weight of his destiny, has acquired the power to change the course of his life and empire. Although he appears meek, the emperor is considered by many as a tyrant. Living in his millennium palace, his policies favor without any discretion the human beings. So that among other peoples, and even the green skins, resistance is growing.

The Empire of Lynn

Lynn, capital of the Empire:

Lynn is the all-powerful capital of the empire. Immense and fabulously rich city, Lynn welcomes everything, and everything is in profusion there: silk, gems, works of art, jewelry, weapons and armor... From the ramparts, it is possible to contemplate the most gigantic naval port of the Empire. A lighthouse guiding ships is at the top of the imperial palace. This colossal edifice is both the place of imperial residence, barracks for the guards and also contains the important ministries. The walls are able to resist the attack of giants and the most powerful siege engines. It is said that the heaviest stones were cut by dwarves in order to have a perfect finish. Yet, their sheer size means that they can only have been placed by several giants. A little farther, in the shade of this disproportionate structure is the district of the temples within which almost all the religions of the empire are represented. One cannot describe Lynn without mentioning the imperial college, training many thaumaturges; and its library which constitutes the largest gathering of knowledge. There, mages study constantly, waiting to accompany the imperial armies. We find finally numerous military academies, training the best legionaries as well as the best strategists who will become imperial centurions.


The Plain of the Oracle:


In the center of the Empire is a vast plain set with a disproportionate rock in which the Oracle is chained. The doors of the immense cairn only open to let pass those whom the Oracle has chosen to see. It is known to be infallible, also the latter are legions. Some wait months to hear its call. The path to the oracle is lined with stalls of false seers, soothsayers and magicians and real charlatans in addition to those who wait the call and those who watch politicians go. Only one can know its destiny but the reflection of the Oracle agrees to answer a question put aloud. To come to him is nevertheless frustrating because his cryptic answers bring often more questions than of answers. The Oracle's sanctum is a sacred place where fighting is not allowed.

Altenberg, all-powerful fortress of the Order of the Light

Never conquered, never subjugated, Altenberg is the lighthouse of the purity, the seat of the Order of Light. It is the stronghold of the Grand Master Frater Sinister... There, the brothers train tirelessly to ensure that their actions are as safe as their souls immaculate. Their faith is always forged in fires of the sun and the Lord. A good part of their spare time is dedicated to the saving prayers and to the purificatory ablutions. This city is in fact made up of gigantic fortresses inside larger fortifications still. Saint-of-the-Saint, the ultimate keep, is located in the middle of the citadel. It includes the room of the high commander and a gigantic cathedral from which rise litanies and the sounds of bells seven times blessed. From these emanate the most powerful clerical spells that guide the arms of the faithful throughout the empire. This warrior order depends on the authority of the emperor, and been able to raise many castles within the empire making this order more popular than the Order of Justice. In fact, this order is managed militarily by the Grand Master Frater Sinister and morally by its Archpriest.

The symbol of the Knights of the Light is a scarlet cross placed on the pristine white of the Light. It represent the blood shed by these warlike monks for the continual defense of the imperial colonists against the brutality of nonhumans. The spearhead of the army is composed of the nobility and the youngest son of each major family.

Sysigie, Kingdom of Justice

On the borders of the empire is the principality of Sysigie. The latter is named after the astronomical phenomenon that is its origin. Indeed, the “basin” which constitutes this territory comes from the fall from an enormous meteorite caused by a syzygy (or syzygia) or alignment from celestial bodies. Led by Prince Parsifal, Commander of the Order of the Knights of Justice, this land bathed by a sea of ​​clouds is a place of peace and of harmony. In the shelter of strong walls of granite, has developed a secular order of pure-hearted knights. These obedient servants of the Lord are composed mainly of monks, warriors, and ordained priests. This vast kingdom is bordered by high, impassible mountains. Its only access is a gorge a few hundred meters wide. There, a huge fortress wall was raised by his government in order to protect access. The gates of brass, also called gates of Dawn, are controlled by a powerful machine.


Defended by the twice-blessed swords of master paladins, Sysigie also hosts a population of strange dracomorphs (draconic shapeshifter, like a were-dragon) dedicating themselves to the cause of Rao.

Barony of Moork, home of the Black Moon


Situated in the northeastern portion of the Empire, the Barony of Moork sits between the powerful provinces of Northhind to the west and Horkher to the east. Benefiting from lands less rich than its neighbors, the Barony of Moork became allied to the Black Moon to protect itself from barbaric kingdoms situated even more in the North of the north marches of the Empire. According to legend, the Black Moon lives in a gigantic palace situated in the borders of the marches of the empire at the end of the Barony of Moork. What few people know, is that the Grand Arch, which separates the two fiefs, is actually a portal between Oerth and the Black Moon, as only a reflection of the palace on Oerth. In fact, the structure exists on the surface of the moon Celene itself, a symbol of the power of the archmage Haazheel Thorn. From there comes the nickname of the Black Moon. The titanic palace, protected from all, accommodates a million faithful. The nerve center of his power is a huge ball room whose wall is divided in small cavities resembling a honeycomb. These cells host, for a while, the soul of a believer in prayer. The energy of his faith is concentrated in that room. Stored, it is then distributed among the various priests.


Drach, the Kingdom of Dragons

The Pass of Dragons is one of the rare entrances to legendary kingdom of the wyrms, within an immensely rocky and jagged part of the country. There are sleeping dragons whose number is unknown. The oldest dragons reign mercilessly over their offspring by means of some human knights with whom they enter into an alliance. These "Dragonmasters" watch carefully and forbid all access to the Kingdom of Drach.

Dragonmasters are descendants of humans who had a pact with the dragons. Combined with the wyrms in the Kingdom of Drach, they protect the Pass of Dragons and forbid access. They also raise the offspring of dragons. A veritable symbiosis develops between the dragon and its rider. Indeed, by weaving an empathic link the creature sees its intelligence increasing and the human being sees his life expectancy prolonged.

Kendrhir Vale


Kendrhir, the city of Grand Magi, has the distinction of being governed by the directors of the different schools of magic that comprise it. This city was built by the sorcerer's apprentices who wanted to find calm and rest for a place conducive to study. Unofficially, it is rather composed of students who were rejected at Imperial College.

Feyhin Forest


Feyhin Lockthat, the city of gladiators and the game is home to many adventurers and merchants. By exempting travelers from taxes, it attracts a more heterogeneous population.

Sunken Glade of Magistrya

Magistrya is a city winding as a stony snake around a rock peak forming an amazing maze of lace. The most beautiful houses spread out to higher ground. Magistrya is also home to the palace of the Magister, a powerful mage that many say is immortal. He rules the city with an iron fist and keeps order. The guards are numerous, well-trained and brutal.

The Territories of the Marches


The Territories of the Marches are a succession of small bordering provinces in the empire. Ruled by lords who are trying to ensure their own protection, these realms have only relatively dry land. It is, however, these limited resources that provide better protection. Nevertheless, Taarak, Klindor,  and Hazol are often subjected to barbarian raids. These cities are the three largest cities of the Territories of the Marches.

Ghrunkedash, the Crater City:

The dwarf city of Ghrunkedash is famous in the empire for the quality of its metals. The city gates are steel and appear to be impregnable. The interior resembles that of an anthill. At the heart of the maze of fire and steel are the masters of the forges. All that is built and much more is to be sold still there. Everything has a price. The masters of the forges work for all nations. The city is built on an active volcano. The sinking lava transforms the landscape into a blood-red hell.

Tharque Empire:


The Empire such as it is known at the moment consists of only the ancient third province of the Tharque Empire. The Obart Magocracy left a ravaged land, but little by little, the humans rose up and began to reconstruct what had been destroyed. In spite of these losses, the Tharque Empire remains powerful. The Empire derives its name from the ancient capital city Tharquatis.

The Tharque Empire seeks to reclaim its lost territory, namely the present-day Empire of Lynn. To this end, the Tharque Empire is willing to join forces with anyone seeking to unseat Haghendorf. Meldrim is the current emperor of Tharque, and his younger brother Sierholt controls Tharque's navy, possibly the largest navy in the world.

Khemit, the Kingdom of Pharaoh

The kingdom of Khemit is crossed by the Iteru, the big feeder river. At its center is an island where the sacred city of the magi of Khemit is located. This city does not have a name so that no one can find it.

More to the north is Inebou-Hedjou, the capital of the two kingdoms of high and low Khemit. The place ruled by the almighty Pharaoh. Surrounded by gigantic walls, no other city of Khemit is as beautiful, as large nor as richly decorated. Protected by magic canals, the main channel, also called royal canal, leads directly to the palace reserved for the Pharaoh, the Magi and the great nobles. This huge canal is lined with high walls decorated with countless statues and covered by a number of vigilant archers. Immense, magnificent and teeming with people, Memphis finds an equivalent in the superlative degrees only with the capital of Lynn. The city of the Pharaoh was, however, far more prosperous for many years. And the rich are much richer and the poor have given up their freedom. There are many palanquins advancing slowly on the large esplanade of the palace of the Great Vizier. Memphis has many architectural wonders, most notable are the gigantic pyramids, royal tombs of the preceding Pharaonic dynasties, and the great royal square, so large that it could contain a whole city. The wonders of Inebou-Hedjou stretch out of sight and seem to have no end.

The Kingdom of Khemit was born of the alliance of the Nubian people to share, for a time, with the Tharque Empire with the largest area of ​​the world. Nevertheless, contrary to Atalyans and Tharques, Khemit knew how to moderate its ascent as well as its fall. Governed by the living God, Pharaoh, the land includes the greatest fighters (the Sphinx Guards) as well as the most powerful mages.

The Tribes of Enllaves:

A land of proud desert nomads who eke out a living on a high plateau that escapes the worst heat of the sand sea.  A few tribes-men live in mud-brick towns built around central squares that contain steep-sided pyramids.  It is unknown whether the pyramids serve as monuments, tombs, temples, or something else altogether

lshtarland:

A land watered by southern storms and at least two great rivers.  The city of Ishtar vies with the merchants of Lynn and the warlords of Tharque for control of coastal trade.

Red Kingdom:

This land is so named for the color of its rocks.  Its inhabitants remain unknown to the rest of the Oerth.

Barbarian Seameast:

A windswept land covered with primeval forests where fiery but convivial tribesmen dwell.

[A球]

The lands of the sundered empire are in western Oerik on the world of Oerth. This area has never been explored by the denizens of Greyhawk. So it has remained a mystery for countless generations.

People & Places:

The elves of Ravilla once dominated western Oerik, but as vigilance waned the empire crumbled. While the region was no stranger to warfare recent events have all but ensured that the fires of war will burn for decades to come.

AHMUT’S LEGION: Three hundred years ago, the nomad warlord Ahmut terrorized Ravilla before an assassin’s knife put him in an unmarked grave. This dread warrior was reanimated by the spear of the God of War, and he now leads an undead army in a mad quest for vengeance. He has the aid of a forbidden death cult, whose powerful necromantic magic helps keep his army in the field.

DRAZEN’S HORDE: The savage humanoids of the Southlands were never a real threat until the hobgoblin commander Drazen forged the orcs, goblins, ogres, and hobgoblins into a cohesive army. They crossed the Blasted Desert in an epic march and attacked with complete surprise. With Stratis’s axe in his hand, Drazen is all but unstoppable.

THE PEOPLE’S STATE OF MORDENGARD: Just over one hundred years ago, the dwarves of Mordengard toppled their Tyrant King and established a worker’s state. Now the People’s Legion has taken to the field to fight for the freedom of the dwarves. With skill, bravery, and ingenious elemental weapons, the dwarves safeguard their revolution.

NARESH: Jangir, a gnoll priest with demonic blood in his veins, has united the gnolls under the banner of his abyssal patron Yeenoghu. Now gnoll and demon march in step, as Jangir spreads chaos and terror for the glory of his god. If Jangir succeeds in reopening the Abyssal Gateways in the heart of Ravilla, his demon horde would sweep away all opposition.

THE EMPIRE OF RAVILLA: This elven state used to rule the whole region, but now it is an empire in name only. Ravilla lost most of its land in a long series of disastrous wars. Now the city-dwelling gray elves and their wood elf allies have been driven back to their original borders. They are engaged in a life-or-death struggle with not only the forces of evil but also the crusading humans of Thalos.

THALOS: Thalos was founded by human tribes fleeing from the advancing armies of Ravilla. The current queen, Almira XXI, declared a holy crusade that fired up the Thalish people. She aims to conquer the ancient lands of the human tribes, lost so long ago. Her armies, led by paladins and assisted by gnome engineers, have enjoyed great success in their initial campaigns.

History:

Godwar

It began with good intentions.

Imagine a world without war. A perfect realm where all beings are free to grow and develop without having to fight against their neighbors.

Imagine you see a way to make this dream a reality.Would you risk your life to end war? Your soul?

In the west of the world, the elven hero Marinn took the risk. The God of War, a four-armed warrior named Stratis, walked among mortal races for the pleasure of their combat. Wherever he went, he drove mortals to rise against one another in bloody battle. Marinn recruited heroes of all the mortal races, gathered artifacts that could slay a god, and lured Stratis into an ambush.

In daylong combat, Stratis slew all but three of the heroes. The fight had weakened him, though. Marinn’s allies seized the God of War, and Marinn pierced his heart with an ancient elven blade.

Stratis was slain, but divine power gave him time to utter his curse. “You think your people will be free? You think you have escaped me? You mortals will have nothing but war, not a moment of peace until a new God of War rises to replace me.” Stratis staggered to his feet and erupted toward heaven, spraying his blood and weaponry over the world as his soul blasted upward. His weapons scattered away from his ascent as meteorites, burning through the smoke of the warzone.

Even as he died, the God of War knew how to place his weapons. Stratis’s axe dropped among the savage tribes of the southern lands and was seized by a hobgoblin chieftain named Drazen. Stratis’s spear plunged to the forgotten grave of an ancient human warlord, Ahmut, who rose screaming for vengeance and the death of all living things. Stratis’s flail came by the hands of a child to the half-fiend gnoll Jangir.

But the real danger lies not in the weapons that fell into evil hands—it’s the power promised by Stratis’s undiscovered artifacts. It is commonly believed that anyone who can assemble enough of Stratis’s divine panoply and blend it with his or her own supernatural power will become the next God of War.

The dead god’s promise of war unfettered has come true. It is now the fifth year of the Godwar. The only thing preventing universal apocalypse is the supernatural chaos left in the wake of Stratis’s fall. This turmoil hinders armies of thousands from mustering, much less marching against enemies. Common soldiers no longer remember orders without their commanders’ constant presence; they lose themselves to the frenzy of war instead of its efficient execution. Decisive warfare is now possible only with bands of elite combatants who can maintain their focus and cohesion. These same small bands spearhead the search for Stratis’s scattered panoply.

Stratis’s curse has left some room for hope. Unfortunately, it is the hope that one’s own people will sponsor the next God of War. Every kingdom and tribe fears the consequences should its enemies win. And no one can afford to trust the good intentions of those who, under other circumstances, might be friends. Because we know where good intentions have taken us . . .

It ends in war.
_____________________________________________________________________________________
Ravilla knows what is best for the world. The equation is simple, despite what other races and nations like to believe. What is best is that the Abyssal Gateways remain closed. Each gateway is locked and buried deep in the heart of a gray elf city. The cities have grown into great (and sometimes) urbane metropolises, but at heart, each exists only as containment for a portal to the unspeakable horrors of the Abyss.

One thousand years ago, Corellon Larethian charged the elves of what is now Ravilla to defend the Abyssal Gateways, to keep them from opening and their evil from consuming the world. The elves followed their deity’s orders by ensuring that no enemies, or potential enemies, could grow strong enough to challenge Ravilla and smash a path to open a portal. For hundreds of years, the hegemony of the elves’ Dragon Empire was a necessary burden, a duty imposed by Corellon’s sacred trust. That was the theory, in any case. In practice, the distinction grew fuzzy between guarding the Abyssal Gateways and playing the game of empires for its own sake. The “Empire” was governed by a Grand Council of Oligarchs who maintained the Empty Throne for Corellon Larethian, against the day when he would return to commend them for their sacred dedication. Many Oligarchs exercised power for its own sake rather than as a necessary evil. There is scarcely a people, tribe, or nation that has not been invaded, betrayed, or dominated at some point by the Dragon Empire or its current Ravillan heirs.

Consequently, the new potentials of the Godwar come as a major threat to the people of Ravilla. The Dragon Empire is long broken, limping along as a collection of gray elf citystates, wood elf strongholds, and draconic allies. The Oligarchs still rule, and the Abyssal Gateways remain closed, but even the good-aligned nations of Thalos and Mordengard have reason to despise the elves. And to Ahmut, the once-slain lord of undeath, and the demonic gnolls of Jangir’s crusade, the elves are a most hated enemy who must be slain at any cost.

With so many enemies, it is a wonder that Ravilla endures. At this moment in the Godwar, the reasons for its survival are two. First, the chaotic conditions make full-scale invasions and sieges difficult: The elven cities endure constant harassment and raids, but no death blows. Second, there is more power in Ravilla than the Oligarchs themselves realize. A young elf named Tarquin, son of an ancient and illustrious family, possesses Stratis’s sword. Tarquin’s plans are not known, and he has not yet revealed his full power. But in the streets, in the academies, among the Oathbands of the forest, there are whispers that what the ancient Dragon Empire needs is a true emperor at last.

Despite the fact that they have won several engagements in the war, the elves have only recently gotten off the back leg. After the youth with the sword of Stratis was crowned Emperor after the death of the previous one 4 years ago, he shifted the focus of the war, splitting Ravilla’s army into grey and wood elf forces. Calling upon rarely seen grey elven druids, he created pacts with the seelie courts, bringing the fey into the war. Dryads, satyrs and treants join forces with the wood elves, while sylphs, nymphs and pixies would march on the grey elven front. He also made overtures of peace to humans not aligned with Thalos in the wake of the Free States disaster, and it is met with no small amount of enthusiasm. New Govis became a buffer state for Ravilla, just as it did all those years ago, although now humans are seen as full (although certainly not equal) members of the empire in an attempt to avoid the mistakes of the past.

Before the Demon war, the elves were split into two main groups. The wood elves as their name suggests, lived in the primeval forests of the interior. While the gray elves lived in remote mountain cities. There was little communication between the branches of the elven race, but the Demon war changed everything.

Without warning enormous portals opened up in the depths of the forest. Armies of demons direct from the abyss poured into western Oerik. The wood elves were caught by surprise, thousands died. Wildfires raged out of control, destroying the heart of the forest and the wood elves homesteads with it.

Aid was slow in coming, and the wood elves were on the brink of annihilation. At this hour, the wood elf hero Peramil mounted his giant eagle and flew through the blackened sky to reach the mountain homes of the gray elves. He fought off winged demons and vicious harpies along the way, but no evil could slow him. Peramil reached the gray elf city of Ventia and told his kin of the holocaust consuming the wood elf homeland. The gray elves acted quickly. Within the hour, powerful wizards were flying above the battlefields, reconnoitering the enemy positions. Elite strike teams were dispatched to distract the demons while the gray elves mustered their army for war. Soon a hundred thousand elves were marching from the mountains to engage the demonic armies. Bahamut the platinum dragon led his metallic dragons into the fray, and together the allies saved the wood elves from destruction. To show their gratitude, the wood elves swore a great oath, binding them to their kin for the duration of the conflict. Throughout the long war that followed, wood elf units served with the gray elf army. They became known as Oathbands, and the demons learned to fear their guerrilla tactics and deadly accuracy with the long bow.

An Elven Nation After the Demon War, Corellon Larethian tasked the gray elves with guarding the Abyssal Gateways. The elves sealed up their mountain cities and hid them from the world with magic spells and wards. They built new cities around the portals. Should they ever prove lax in their duties, the gray elves will pay a heavy price. What was left of the wood elves returned to their forest homes after the war. Due to the destructiveness of the conflict, only a small part of the forest remained. They made a formal agreement with the gray elves to ensure their own protection. The wood elf lands would become part of the new elven nation, but gray elf control would end at the borders of the forest. The wood elves also agreed to provide Oathbands for service with the gray elf army in times of war. The City States At first the gray elf cities were fairly autonomous. The city-states that emerged had many forms of government, with a Grand Council that addressed issues of import to all the elven lands. This state of affairs lasted for nearly five hundred years, during which time human tribes and dwarven clans spread into Western Oerik. In the year 499, the Abyssal Gateway in the city of Xanos opened, and demons flooded out once again. The attack was contained quickly and bloodily, but the complacency of the previous centuries had been shattered. Everyone wanted answers and the Grand Council had none to give. To address the concerns of the common citizen, the Grand Council tasked a small group of wizards with the investigation of the Xanos Incident. In 505 the wizards reported their findings. It was their opinion that the gate’s activation was due to the abnormally large number of sorcerers in Xanos. In a stunning declaration, the wizards claimed that the secret and previously unknown root of sorcerous power was the Abyss. The scientific method of wizardry was thus the only safe way to practice arcane magic. Sorcerers across the city-states protested vehemently. They argued that it was the blood of dragons that gave them their power, not the influence of demons. The Grand Council was looking for a scapegoat, however, and the wizards had given them one. To protect the elven people, the Grand Council turned from an advisory body to a ruling one. The city-states were now to become parts of a greater whole. The gray elf citizens, frightened by the taste of war they had received, wholeheartedly approved of the Grand Council’s action. From City-States to Empire The Grand Council’s next move was to enact an official ban on sorcery. Its practice was specifically linked to demonology and its practitioners were declared a danger to elven security. Over the ensuing five years, sorcerers in the city-states were hunted by specialized teams of mage hunters. They were forced to renounce their sorcerous ways or go into exile. Many left and never returned.

The most successful mage hunter was an elf named Trigorian. He unearthed a cabal of sorcerous cultists, and their public trial made Trigorian a hero. When the sorcerers of Ravilla had been dealt with, the ambitious Trigorian turned to politics, and in 513 he was elected to the Grand Council. He immediately agitated for a wider effort against sorcery. He argued persuasively that city-states could not be kept safe if sorcerers were allowed to run wild beyond their borders. The council tripled the size of the army, while Trigorian urged the citizens to war. Hostilities commenced in 515. Gray elf armies swept south and east for the next twenty years, aided by Oathbands of their wood elf kin. They overran a myriad of petty kingdoms and drove humans and dwarves before them. By the time the campaign had run its course, the elves controlled all of Western Oerik north of the Blasted Desert with two exceptions: the dwarven kingdom and the new human nation of Thalos. The dwarves were not a sorcerous people, so costly assaults on their mountain strongholds were considered unnecessary. The island nation of Thalos was assaulted in 550, but the inspirational leadership of their Queen Almira helped the humans defeat the veteran elven legions. Although Trigorian agitated for a renewed attack, none would back him. The elven people were tired of war. Thus the elven city-states became an empire. The official year of this event is 525, when the city-states unified permanently as the Empire of Ravilla. The members of the Grand Council became known as the Oligarchs and their power was vast. They presided over the zenith of Ravillan achievement, the Elven Peace of 552-698. Everything Falls Apart The Empire of Ravilla could not last.

The Demon War opened gateways from the Abyss into western Oerik, through which swarmed hordes of fiendish troops alongside minotaurs and gnolls. When the gray elves defeated the Abyssal forces, sealing the portals, the surviving gnolls scattered into the mountains. There they nursed their wounds, and their grudges.

Yeenoghu, demonic patron of the gnolls, still nurtures red dreams of power. Fiends yet mingle with his children, whose numbers have grown again in their remote mountains. And forty years ago, a mighty demon fathered Jangir with a gnoll woman. The half-fiend rose to become high priest of Yeenoghu—and now he wields the flail of Stratis. Jangir, self-styled Priest-King of Naresh, sees two paths to victory. The first is to win the game the rest of the factions are playing: Collect more of Stratis’s divine panoply and attain the power of the god. The second is uniquely available to Jangir: Achieve Yeenoghu’s favor by opening the Abyssal Gateways within the elven lands once more and letting chaos loose upon the world in a full-scale demonic invasion.

Since Stratis’s flail came to him as a gift, brought by a gnoll child who had seen it fall from the sky, Jangir thinks of himself as chosen by the gods. He was already an exceptional warrior and commander who led his followers against the elves of the former Dragon Empire. Victory comes naturally to him. Now all the gnolls and most of the demons follow his banner and that of his deadly patron. Some other warlords possess Stratis’s weapons, which makes them troublesome, but Jangir expects to acquire more of the dead god’s panoply—if not as gifts from commanders, then as personal spoils of war.

Invading Ravilla directly has been a thornier problem. Jangir’s demonic allies are ferocious but undisciplined. Instead of massing to attack Ravilla’s weak spots, they tend to prefer the short-term satisfaction of hunting individual elves and slaying them messily. So for now, Jangir follows the first strategy, attempting to increase his personal power until he can guide masses of demons as effortlessly as he motivates tribes of gnolls.

Rebirth

The days after the Demon War were dark ones for the gnolls. Yeenoghu and Baphomet became enemies, each blaming the other for their defeat. As if fleeing from vengeful elves was not enough, the gnolls also found themselves in constant skirmishes with their minotaur allies. Crossing the mountains with few supplies and no native guides only added to their misery. As a result, many of the gnolls perished before they ever reached safety beyond the mountains. The gnolls arrived in a lawless region well away from civilization. Yet even with reduced numbers, the veteran gnoll warriors were able to claim a section of the forest as a new base. Once established, they sent out rangers to survey the area. They discovered that several humanoid warlords were operating in the wild and that a strong nation rumored to be ruled by dragons dominated the south. The gnoll tribes, having little to offer anyone but their battle experience, began to hire themselves out as mercenaries to the various warlords. They quickly established a reputation for bloodthirstiness and ruthless efficiency. Once a warlord became completely dependent on gnoll troops, he would be overthrown and his lands added to that of the tribes. Every year, gnoll numbers and territory grew, and they dubbed their new land Naresh, meaning “far home” in their native tongue. The gnolls showed little interest in Western Oerik, and it is unlikely they would have turned their attention that way if not for the minotaurs. The servants of Baphomet had settled deep under the mountains, away from both elves and gnolls. When the demon lord deemed the time right, he unleashed his minotaur bands against Naresh. Baphomet, it seemed, continued to nurse a grudge against Yeenoghu, and he wanted his rival’s worshippers to suffer. A vicious war ensued. Surprised at this onslaught from an unexpected quarter, the gnolls initially gave ground. Under the skillful leadership of their rangers, however, the gnolls “ceded” more territory to the minotaurs and lured them deep into the forest. This was the invaders’ undoing. Being masters of irregular warfare, the gnolls began whittling away at the minotaur forces with traps and ambushes. Eventually, the sheer number of gnolls began to take its toll on their attackers, and they pushed the minotaurs back into the mountains.

The Return

With their enemies retreat, the gnoll tribal chiefs were in favor of declaring victory and ending the war. The priests of Yeenoghu, however, insisted on a counter invasion of minotaur territory. They claimed that their demon prince demanded vengeance, and faced with the word of Yeenoghu, the chiefs had little choice but to acquiesce. The war raged on. This time, the minotaurs had the advantage of fighting on their home turf. The gnolls fought through endless underground labyrinths, and while they were ultimately victorious, the price they paid was terrible. Another period of rebuilding followed, and the gnoll tribes once again regained their strength. With the former minotaur territory now under their control, the gnolls found themselves, almost by accident, near Ravilla. As time passed, gnoll rangers reported that the eastern defenses of Ravilla were eroding. The elves had never faced invasion from the mountains, and convinced that an attack from this direction would never come, they had grown lax. In light of these reports, the priests of Yeenoghu once again demanded action—here was an opportunity to take vengeance on an ancient foe. Spurred on by the priests and aided by demons, a coalition of gnoll tribes attacked Ravilla’s eastern defenses. With ease, they rushed through the elven lines and then pushed on out of the mountains. Here, they met their match. In a series of bloody battles, the elves and their centaur allies stopped the gnolls and established a new border for Ravilla. Nevertheless, the elves were in shock—the gnolls, gone for so long, had returned with a vengeance.

Jangir’s Rise

Knowing that if the gnolls ever succeeded in breaking open the Abyssal Gateways at the heart of the gray elf cities all would be lost, the elves expected the worst. After their stinging defeat in the forest however, the gnoll tribes began squabbling. Some wanted to attack again, others wanted merely to enjoy the spoils they had already won. Lacking a strong leader, the gnolls ultimately mounted no major campaigns for over a hundred years. Some forty years ago, a powerful demon fathered a son with a gnoll woman. This boy was called Jangir, and from a young age he proved a mighty warrior. He joined the priesthood of Yeenoghu and quickly rose through its ranks. With strength, charisma, and the power of demonic blood, Jangir dominated the priests of Yeenoghu and became high priest by the age of thirty. When Stratis was slain, Jangir had already decided to take the tibes to war. Several weeks after the death of Stratis, a gnoll child came to the temple with a gift for Jangir. It was the flail of the slain god, which had fallen from the sky after the final battle. Here was an undeniable portent. With the flail in hand and Yeenoghu’s blessing, Jangir was unstoppable. He united the gnoll tribes under his own leadership and declared himself Priest-King of Naresh. Now Jangir and the gnolls march to war with summoned demons at their side. If the Priest-King has his way, the Abyssal Gateways will be torn asunder, and Yeenoghu’s legions will once again terrorize Western Oerik. The elves ask and grant no quarter. They know they are one step away from annihilation.

[A球]

Roll Stealth only at the moment of possible detection.
Players make (Dexterity) Stealth rolls only when someone is in a position to see them or look for them. The Player’s Handbook doesn’t say exactly when players are supposed to roll their stealth skill and many players will use the skill as if they’re “entering stealth mode” with a roll up-front, so this is more of a clarification of how I handle things. When a character announces they are going to creep somewhere, I don’t ask them to roll. Instead I wait until someone could see them or is looking for them and ask the player to roll at that moment of discovery. I find this adds tension and reduces the total number of rolls in a session. These rolls can be made in secret if the enemy is also hidden.

Small enemies share HP as a squad and attack as one.
When I put my players into a fight in which they are outnumbered, I will often make groups of weaker enemies into squads. A squad might contain five members, and the HP for the squad equals the sum of all the participants. If a player deals more than enough damage to kill a member, the extra damage stays with the squad. Sometimes it’s possible for players to kill two or more members with a single swing. The squad acts as a single unit on the squad’s initiative and only makes one attack, enhanced by the number of squad members. For instance, if I want a squad of four hobgoblins to attack a player, I’ll give the squad 44 HP (the total of all the hobgoblins), and I’ll have them make a single attack giving them a +2 bonus for each member of the squad alive beyond the first, and I’ll similarly give them a boost to the damage of the hit for each member participating in the attack. This rule allows groups of weaker enemies to still threaten players, while also cutting down on the total number of rolls needed in a fight. Another option for this exists in the Dungeon Master’s Guide, under Handling Mobs.

Minion enemies have 1 HP and don’t take half damage on failed saves.
This is another way to add a lot of enemies to a battle, while also circumventing the need to track dozens of HP values. I like using this rule to represent hordes of enemies like a rat colony or an attack from goblin warrens. You might remember this rule from an earlier version of D&D.

Max damage + die roll for crits.
When you roll a natural 20 on an attack, add up the damage dice you rolled and then add the maximum they could have rolled to that number. I’m a huge fan of rolling once for your attack, so just take that d20 and your damage dice and roll them together. This house rule streamlines critical hits, while also giving them a more potent boost to damage. This makes every critical hit dangerous and exciting but be aware that it can also make fights more dangerous as both players and enemies will be dealing a little more damage overall.

Team inspiration.
I’ve run games where people are reticent to use their inspiration, and even less likely to send it over to someone else. To remedy this, I’ve added a bowl that I put something in to serve as a group pool of inspiration. I limit the bowl to holding four pieces of inspiration at a time. I’ve found that people are more likely to use the inspiration when doing this, knowing that there might still be some left over.

Inspired saving throws: players can spend their reaction and a point of inspiration to gain a saving throw reroll.
Sometimes a saving throw is crucial to a player and when that three shows on the die their heart sinks. Danger is a part of every D&D campaign, but if you want to give your players a little more hope against that beholder, consider this house rule.

“I have a thing for that”: Allow a player to spend a point of inspiration to “remember” their character purchases a mundane item.
They deduct the gold as if they bought it earlier and just lost it in their pack. Adventurers carry all sorts of things in their packs, sometimes they carry so many things they lose track of some of them, only to remember them at just the right moment. If you want your players to have that sort of luck, consider this house rule!

“I know someone for that”: Allow a player to spend inspiration to describe a contact who can help with the current situation.
Obviously, there are limitations to this, but this is a great way to allow players some agency in creating a new ally. I’ve found this works really well for urban campaign settings and after players have done it once or twice, they feel more invested and connected. Another version of this rule has been discussed online, here’s a twitter thread for “I know a guy,” a version of this rule with a little more risk involved.

Allow the players to swap initiative rolls with one another before combat starts.
Sometimes players have an idea that requires teamwork based on a specific order they’d like to act in, and this allows them to always get the order they want. This isn’t one I personally use because I use the slightly more restrictive house rule that comes next.

On the first turn of combat, allow players to lower their initiative to one point lower than that of an ally.
Sometimes a character really wants to go after someone else, and it’ll help their teamwork. I’m willing to let them assign a penalty to their own initiative to make that happen. Sometimes this results in the whole group wanting to go in a specific order and they’ll drop their initiative to do it. Most often this results in their enemies going before all of them in a big block, which tends to work out poorly for the players, so they should exercise this option with caution. Each of these rules allow players to manipulate their initiative at the start of combat. If you don’t like the idea of players switching up their initiative but they are clamoring to set up the cool combinations they envisioned, remind them of the ability to Ready as their action. “Ready” is a way for them to set up their tactical combinations while maintaining initiative as rolled.

During character creation, allow players to apply one of their attribute bonuses to a different stat.
Sometimes players box themselves into picking races based on their ability bonuses. I like to allow some flexibility and encourage my players to give me a neat backstory that fleshes out their alternate bonus.

Fumbles in combat leave you open so that your enemy can immediately use their reaction to make an attack against you.
I’ve seen a lot of DMs using fumble tables to punish people for rolling a critical failure during combat. Personally, I feel that rolling a one and automatically missing is punishment enough. But I also understand that sometimes it can be cool to have those fumble moments. I think this house rule strikes a good balance where the defender must expend a reaction to take advantage of the opening. This also means that your fighter who is making several attacks a round doesn’t get punished super hard for rolling a one. Since they are often trying to tank hits for other party members this can actually work to their advantage if it allows an ally to escape or move past the enemy they’re engaged with!

If a character misses a check by three or less offer them the chance to succeed but with a penalty, or have a negative consequence associated with their success.
Sometimes a failure at a skill can be a setback for the players or the DM. In instances of close calls, I like to offer players a tough choice or have some extra consequences comes as a result of the check. Some examples:
Athletics: You successfully swing on the chandelier, but suffer a level of exhaustion.
Investigation: You manage to search the desk and find the hidden compartment, but you knock a vase to the ground, alerting enemies in the next room.
Deception: They’ll go along with your lie, but only for a bribe or a favor in return

DM rolls player death saves behind the screen.
This is something I have done ever since I had an NPC ally drop to 0 HP during a fight and rolled their death saves behind the screen. I noticed that my players were far more concerned for that NPC’s safety than they ever were when each other were on the ground and bleeding.

Characters gain a level of exhaustion at end of combat if they failed a death save during that combat.
This is another house rule that goes a long way toward encouraging players to help each other out, and from a roleplaying perspective it adds some additional opportunities around characters really acting like they got their bell rung after a difficult fight. I’d like to thank WOTC Video Content Strategist Trick Jarrett for introducing me to this rule.

Give characters an additional tool proficiency or language for each point of Intelligence bonus they have.
I’ve experimented with this one and feel it gives high Intelligence characters a more worldly and cultured feeling, without causing them to become imbalanced.

Give players an extra attack bonus for good description.
This rule is good if you don’t play with inspiration, otherwise I recommend awarding inspiration for particularly good descriptions. My rule of thumb when employing this is that any good description gives an extra +1 to hit or +1 on spell save DC. If the character expends a resource or utilizes the environment or another item they have, give +2. Be careful with employing this rule too often as it can lead to rewarding only the extroverts in your group or create longer combat encounters as players describe the arc of every swing.

Characters can turn a hit into a critical by suffering two exhaustion levels.
I like this house rule because it’s not something that’s abusable, characters aren’t going to want to volunteer to suffer exhaustion levels on whim, but it can result in great signaling events, when the fight comes down to the very end and the character and their nemesis are both cut and bruised. Having a player commit to have their character deal what will probably be the final blow can make for a great cinematic moment. Thanks to Trick Jarrett once again for introducing me to this rule.

If a player describes something difficult but cool they want their character to do and it advances the story, don’t roll. Just have them succeed.
There are few things that let the wind out of a group’s sails as much as a character describing a creative solution well, only to roll a critical failure. Often when these situations happened, I would find myself let down as the DM too. I decided to stop letting that happen. If the scene and the moment are right, just let them succeed! If you’re not comfortable with automatic success, give the player advantage on the roll.

If the bard uses vicious mockery and their insult makes me laugh out loud, the target gets no saving throw.
The bard earned it.

No house rule is for everyone. You may find some of the rules on this list useful for your games, and I hope these ideas inspire you to come up with your own house rules for D&D. If you have house rules of your own you’d like to share, please email them to [email protected] with the subject “2020 House Rules”.

Sam Hanshaw is an avid tabletop gamer and long-time Dungeon Master. He lives in Seattle with his wife, two cats, and a dragon named Puck.