In Service of a Lich.

# In Service of a Lich The Great King Lyrah, of the Kingdom of Lir, is dead. It has been 10 years since the end of the war against the Kingdom Babdh Catha that ravaged the nations of this island-continent finally ended. The alliance of the Kingdom of Lir, and the Kingdom of Nemed drove the King Babdh IIIs knights and soldiers back to their forts and castles, at the cost of thousands of men, women and children. In the years since the fallout of the war has slowly been cleaned up, but the lives that were taken still leave a scar on the memories of those who were touched by its wanton violence. It was in that storm of blood and death that an old evil plotted in the shadows. The island-continent is home to many peoples, most who have forgotten the old magics but live with the fey's blessings, some who hold the teaching of the old shamans close, and more still who have never seen the feywild with their own eyes. Magic still breathes in the quiet corners of the civilizing world, or in the deep wilds of the few untouched forests and mountains of the island-continent. But those mages and shamans who once kept the wild at bay have long since turned their attention elsewhere, forgetting what they did not know they knew... Whether it was through your own quest for power, fame, glory, or just plain bad luck, each of you have ended up on the path to Toril, a haunted forest on the edge of the village of Ceth Catha in the Kingdom of Lir. Older folks tell tale of the beauty of the forest, its greenery and life a blessing to the village, now a sour and foul place with many a monster and fiend roving inside. But the story that many have forgotten, is the deed that took place within it: the slaying of the God-King Byeh'lor by his grandson, Lui Lavadah, and the theft of his divinity from the bowels of evil, so as to return it to the light of mankind. It is for this legend that you feel a calling to seek out the power that may still remain within the deep wood. ## Character Generation ### Basics - Player characters start at level 7. - You may choose either standard array or point buy to allocate your stats. - Player races should follow the rules below: - Human or Half Humans are preferred. - Halflings, Dwarves, or Gnomes are acceptable. (expect mild discrimination) - Do not pick any variant of full Elf or any overtly non-humanoid race - Exceptions might be made if you have a convincing reasoning. - Do not pick Tiefling. At all. :gun: No exceptions. - Magic users should pay attention to their kingdom of origin. - It's not frowned upon to be a mage, but all magics on the island-continent derive in some way from the feywild. - The closer your bond to the fey, the easier time you would have had with your abilities. - Starting equipment is 2000GP + (1d10 x 25)GP + Normal starting equipment for your class. ### Languages in the Island-Continent #### Common Languages - Pente (Common), the most common language amonst humans, spoken by the original human settlers on the island-continent - Demeor (Common - Educated), a foreign language brought by the Charlemegne lords, now spoken among the lords and ladies of nobility and royalty as a sign of status. - Yakk (Halfling), a variation on Pente that has several slang words and a tricky grammar, usually spoken in the Halfling caravans to confuse outsiders. - Erst (Dwarvish), a highly formalized version of Pente designed to be used on the battlefield, where its short easy to comprehend phrases are used to communicate over the din of combat. #### Feywild Languages - Sylvan, the language of the feywilds. Most fey creatures that are sapient comprehend sylvan, even if they may not be able to speak it. - Elvish, the language of the Elvish fey, a dialect of sylvan rarely spoken outside the feywild. Knowing it alone can open many doors. #### Rare/Dead Languages - Linteral (Primordial), a "dead" language that is said to be the original tongue of magic. Arcane artifacts and ruins often contain Linteral script in the stoneworks. - Abyssal, less a "tongue" and more an invocation of dark forces, knowing and speaking Abyssal is usually a sign of being touched by a darker, evil side of the fey. - Lyrian (Celestial), the battle-tongue of Lui Lavadah, kept alive by the Lightbringers. It is said that this language is spoken by the gods. ### Choose an Kingdom of origin - Kingdom of Lir (LEE-yur) - A kingdom in decline since the passing of the Great King Lyrah, who sired only daughters, leaving his kingdom without an heir apparent. Now administered by the mages of the Magistrate Courts, and the Nobility, those with eligible male heirs jockey to lay claim to the hands of the princesses of Lir. However, those fair maidens have been spirited into hiding, whose locations are known only to the Regent Tarla. - Duchy of Chalamegne (CHA-la-maayn-jeh) - Foreign-born lords from across the great oceans seeking to solidify their claim on their lands on the island-continent, purchased from the now-defunct Kingdom of Cefh Lavadah. Their claims are resented by many of the neighboring kingdoms, but begrudgingly accepted in exchange for their advanced metalworking and masonry skills. As they are not native to the lands, the feywild has not touched them, and such they have little magics to speak of, instead opting to make the practices all but outlawed, only allowing artifice which any man can wield. - Kingdom of Nemed (NEH-med) - Close allies with the Kingdom of Lir, who fought alongside them in the Babdh Catha war, the Kingdom of Nemed is defined in the post-war by bickering and infighting bordering on civil war, as the Nobility, led by a famous nobleman turned general named Dul Duanna, claw back what they feel owed by the King. In the post-war, the King gave overly-generous concessions to Lir with the hope of securing the hand of the first princess for his son, in particular lands that were promised to his own nobles. Due to the unrest, Brigands and Sell-swords alike roam the kingdom, making it a dangerous place to travel unprepared and unprotected. The common folk believe civil war could come any day now... - The Seventh House - A theocracy built on the legend of Lui Lavadah (Loo-EE Lah-VAH-dah), whom the faithful revere as the Knight of Light. While they do not occupy a large amount of territory, their autonomy is secured mostly by virtue of the common faith of the native peoples of the island-continent. This religious core have made them the greatest detractor and rival of the Duchy of Chalemegne, as their foreign culture does not recognize Lui as a divine being. They are most well known outside of the religious sphere for their order of paladins, the Lightbringers, who are famous for the blood red, twisted iron spears, that mimic the weapon used to kill their faith's devil, Byeh'lor. While they rarely leave the cathedrals of the major cities, they almost always do so to kill demons, exorcise evil fey spirits, or otherwise hunt the monsters of the island-continent. - Notable Cities/Towns - Solaria, the Capital. Contains the seat of the Seventh House's religious leader and the primary training grounds for the Lightbringers. - Kingdom of Babdh Catha (BAB-dih cah-THA) - The chief rival of the Kingdom of Lir, and formerly warlike nation, now struggling to retain its identity in the face of defeat at the hands of the armies of Lir and Nemed. King Babdh III remains on the throne, ruling as a tyrant, having direct hands in the lands of the nobility that died during the war. His vitriol has become so infamous that the pesantry have begun to refer to him as the Mad King Babdh. The more observant, however, see the situation for what it really is, as the remaining nobility close ranks and prepare for the usurping of the throne of a tyrant who brought their kingdom to ruin. With both taxes and food production in decline, many forsee a terrible famine on the horizon for the beleaguered kingdom. ### Decide your Path #### Glory-seeker The Toril forest has become a hot topic among monster-hunters and warriors seeking fame and glory. Many have entered, few have returned, but those who emerge victorious often ascend to knighthood and fortune. It is for much the same reason that you have made the trek to the strange woods. Whether to seek glory for glory's sake, or as a stepping stone on the path to greater things, Toril's haunting has captured your attention... and perhaps your future. Choose this path if you do not explicitly have leanings towards the evils of the world, or intend to play a morally simple character. #### Noble-bright before the Fall Toril's monsters have destroyed lives and livelihoods, and many a tradesman has begged the local nobles to clear out the foul mess. You may be a champion of some renown, or a scout in advance of one, both tasked with figuring out what makes the forest such a dangerous place, and how to cleanse the evil within. Nobody could have predicted what you found inside... Choose this path if you are a good or moral character who is falling headfirst into the grip of evil, and you want to experience a struggle against the bonds to your new master. #### Power Overwhelming Toril's haunting is by no means a coincidence. Many legends speak of the creatures that have emerged and wreaked havoc across the land, more still of the feywild's strong presence in the woods and glades within. Whether you're a mage seeking greater power, touched by the fey and seeking greater understanding of your gifts, or simply insatiably curious, the power within the forest is too great to resist. Choose this path if you are a magic user, or wise enough to understand the dangers of the feywild. Expect to have your knowledge tested, and skills broadened... all at a cost. #### Bad Luck "Don't go into the forest, it's haunted!" they said. Yeah right, you don't believe in ghosts, and you're not about to start now just because your neighbor claims to have seen a demon for the 10th time this week. There's plenty of hunting and foraging to be done, and you've gotta eat. Toril seems as good a place as any to start. Choose this path if you've stumbled into a world beyond your comprehension, and long for the blissful ignorance you once had. ### Setting Trivia #### The Fey and Feywild Myths and Legend tell of a time when the Fey were alone on the island-continent, and had a civilization that stretched across the breadth of the land. Cities dotted the rivers and were nestled high in the mountains, while the forest and plains were covered in small hamlets dug into the earth. The elves, the purest of the fey-touched, held dominion over the land, cultivating its flora, fauna, and, most importantly, magic to be in perfect harmony with the people. They quarreled, bickered, and sometimes warred among themselves for primacy in some eras, held a stoic peace in others, but above all else they endured. The first men to step foot on the island marked the beginning of the feywild's end. They were at first invisible to the fey, without magics of their own the humans were almost imperceptible to the magic-saturated peoples of the fey. Where humans settled, so too did the magic of the area recede, as if their bodies were erasing it from the land. In one instance, even an entire city vanished at the approach of a group of human settlers. It is said that the mere presence of a few humans is enough to snuff out a lone fey. The elves began a horrible war with the humans, spawning beasts and vermin to invade their homes, casting powerful curses to sap their strength, and even outright slaying those who they could not drive away. It became clear as more and more humans arrived however, that warfare would need to escalate to a level that was impossible for the fey to sustain. It was at this threshold that they began to resort to trickery. The first humans to make direct contact with the fey thought them gods, and for a time worshipped them. Those who dealt with those fey would come to regret it, as many became cursed, disfigured, or enthralled, turning against their fellow man in service of the fey, able to carry out dastardly attacks that the fey could not otherwise do themselves. In time, worship turned to fear, fear turned to resentment, and the nascent mages, humans who had now soaked in enough magic to wield it, began erecting barriers between the humans and the outside world. While these barriers staved off the majority of the fey, it had much the opposite effect in the long term. The slow and steady proliferation of human magic slowed and finally eliminated the human's ability to merely erase fey with their presence. The fey finally found shelter in the areas that humans had ignored, deep forests, swamps, and the caverns deep under the mountains. These areas would eventually become known as the Feywild. The dwindling population of fey would continue to bargain and fool the humans into doing their bidding, some for revenge, some to maintain the peace, and others simply for hedonistic entertainment in a declining civilization. In the current era, it is incredibly rare to see a fey face-to-face, but rumors abound of even the purest of fey elves living among humans, hidden in plain sight. #### The Fey-Touched Races The most common evidence of fey mischief is the introduction of Gnomes, Halflings, and Dwarves, all races created by the curse or bewitchment of parents in exchange for riches, knowledge, or sometimes even survival. In time these children would mature and begin to congregate and form their own tribes, giving birth to successive generations of the fey-touched. Halflings are the most common, with their short and nimble stature being the most light examples of being fey-touched. While few are born to humans directly anymore, they represent a significant population of the island-continent, and mostly spend their time in roving caravans, acting as a significantly talented migrant workforce. Farmers and Ranchers often hire them for harvest season, and craftsmen often allow them to apprentice in exchange for a steady market to sell their wares. The double edge sword of nomadism isn't without its drawbacks, and some kingdoms force their caravans to move on, even by force, if petty theft and debauchery rise beyond what the local sheriffs can handle. Dwarves are the least common, but most sought after of the fey-touched. Their stout frames and significantly above-average strength make them invaluable as shock-troops or front-line fighters during wartime, and bodyguards or enforcers during peacetime. Their martial prowess has created a culture of brash bravado and masculine feats of daring. Though often thought as clumsy or simple-minded by the common folk, it is believed that the best Dwarves are quiet and unassuming; they are more content to surprise a fool-hardy foe than broadcast their cunning. Gnomes are thought to be more plentiful than dwarves, but their place amongst the fey-touched makes it hard to know for sure. Gnomes tend to be servants, agents, or mercenaries for the fey and feywild in the human realms. They are the only fey-touched that are not necessarily always born that way, as at times humans who are taken into the feywild and spend too long within its influence will be morphed into the small, but dexterous forms of a gnome. Beyond the physical benefits of their stature, Gnomes tend to make up some of the greatest magic casters, as often they are privy to techniques or spells not known to mankind or the other fey-touched. This makes them somewhat haughty and prideful, on top of the eccentricity of so much time spent outside human lands.