Campaign Setting

Our story begins in and around Leland-To, a large walled hamlet of 400 on the Shining Plain, a day from the Giant's Run Mountains. The only established human settlement for more than 150 miles, Leland-To is (locally) famous for two things. First, almost 150 years ago to the month, the adventuring cleric Leland (later Leland the First) foiled a Drow invasion of the surface led by the dark cleric Mahta-Jazeera. After his victory, Leland was made ruler of the town. He abrogated his power and Leland-To became a democracy, but considering Leland's descendents have won every Mayoral election in 120 years and the Leland family owns 75% of the businesses, some grumble that Leland-To's democracy is hollow. The current Mayor is Leland the Sixth. Second, Leland-To sits a day away from the only known vein of mithril for at least 1,000 miles; mithril is as strong as steel but far lighter, good for well-balanced, light weapons and, more importantly, tough but light armor.

The people of Leland-To are olive-skinned and dark haired from a history of living on the sub-tropical plains. They are resourceful, hard working and conservative. The town has maybe 10 “classed” individuals and usually only one group of inexperienced “adventurers” each generation, who die young or leave to find greater challenges. Monsters roam the plains and the mountains, particularly around old ruins, but Leland-To's isolation makes bandits and demi-human raiders rare. The only exceptions are Kobolds; most recently one or more clans have inhabited a complex of ruins to the northwest and they are increasingly becoming a thorn in the side of the village by attacking caravans and livestock. Leland-To has a regular guard force of 40 (mostly to watch the mine), but can field 100 men (and a few women) at arms in an emergency.

Leland-To is truly the “frontier”. The Shining Plains may have once had kingdoms or cities of note, but today the landscape is dotted mostly with ruins or the occasional subsistence farming community. There is a small barbarian camp a day's ride to the southeast, where a mixture of humans, orcs, half-orcs and the occasional ogre reside; relations with Leland-To are strained over grazing and hunting rights. A small Dwarven fortress sits several days to the northeast (through the mountains, which can be treacherous), with which Leland-To does most of its trading. A ten-day's ride (weeks are measured in 10's, with 3 to a month) to the southwest is the Forest of Shadows and elven lands; there have only been isolated contacts with Leland-To over the last century. As for human settlements, there is Assam, at least a ten-day's travel on foot, but a true town of 6,500. To the northeast, past the Dwarven fortress is the Lake of the Long Arm and its port, Narlekh. Smaller than Assam at 3,500 inhabitants, it is the only port on the lake, which eventually feeds into the Inland Sea. A caravan route connects Assam and Narlekh, and thereby connects Leland-To to both, but describing the route as a “road” would be generous (it's packed dirt, and bogs down quickly during the spring rains).

Race: Any standard. Races not in the PHB approved by the DM. I'm likely to approve anything with an RCM (racial class modifier) of 0; +1 and +2 are negotiable.

Ability Scores: Roll one set of 4D6 (drop one die). Arrange as you see fit. Be honest. If you end up with a 4 Dex, it's probably fate.

Alignment: Any, though any Good or Neutral are recommended. Some elements of this campaign make Evil characters difficult to support.

Class: Any class in any D&D product. Feel free to look outside the PHB, though some classes might have aspects that need to be modified or approved to fit into the campaign. Prestige classes will be similarly open as characters progress.

Feats and Skills: Any, so long as you meet the requirements. Setting-specific feats should be run past the DM, to see if campaign world modifications are required. I recommend particularly the Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting, Oriental Adventures and the class-specific books for their feats sections; I have all of these books on CDs which can be borrowed or copied, and most in hard copy.

Hit Points: Maximum for 1st level. For future levels, roll twice and take the highest; this should be done in front of the DM.

Equipment: Standard. If the characters are from Leland-To or the Dwarven fortress, mithril items are available at 2x masterwork prices.

Background and Personality: Character discretion. Characters can be from any of the communities described above, or just passing through. I encourage players to think long and hard about their personalities, history, the important NPCs in their life, combat styles, motivations for adventuring, etc. The more you give me, the more I (or a later DM) can weave your backgrounds into the campaign.

Background (Short): Trained as part of a secret order since your early childhood to stop and ancient evil recently returned, you now travel the World of Man in search of the knowledge and power to fulfill your destiny.

DM's Note: This is a story I've been interested in telling (and finally putting on paper) for five years, but I'm more interested in running a fun game that's enjoyable for the whole group and makes everyone some new friends. If no one takes this option, it won't hurt my feelings. This storyline is totally optional, and the story and character restrictions might not be for everyone. If everyone takes it, that's great too. If part of the party takes it, non-Talon characters need to understand that the bonuses Talon characters get are balanced by very tangible drawbacks (some of which will only become apparent later). Talon characters need to be comfortable with the DM's restrictions early on in race, class, alignment and background and to realize that my suggestions for later class and feat progression are not mandatory, though they will be beneficial down the road.

Race (Drawback): Human, Elf, Half-Elf, or Half-Orc. There are specific in-game historical reasons for these restrictions.

Ability Scores: Roll one set of 4D6 (drop one dice). Arrange as you see fit. Be honest.

• Bonus: For H, HE or E, +1 to all scores; for Half-Orcs, +1 to any three scores. Max stats remain the racial maximum for starting characters (usually 16-20, depending on racial modifiers). These bonuses are the reward for 12 years of brutal physical, mental and spiritual training at the hands of Sensei, possibly aided by ancestry, magic or both.

Class (Drawback): Early level class restrictions are the biggest drawback to being a Talon. Because they were raised in a remote monastery setting by a superb martial artist emphasizing spartan living conditions and no outside contact, all Talon characters start as Monks. However, as Sensei says: “There is strength in diversity. No forest survives if it holds only one species of tree; it inevitably finds extinction at the hands of a single plague or insect swarm.” Therefore, he has trained each Talon to fulfill specific a task or role in the larger group. Talon PCs pick one of the following “life paths”; only one PC to a life path. Be strongly advised that childhood weapons and fighting styles will be relevant later, though by no means is progression along those lines mandatory. For rules on multi-classing at first level, refer to the DMG (pg. 40 in 3rd ed.; not sure what in 3.5).

• Bonus: Talon Monks can take levels in the second class chosen at 1st level without losing the ability to take more levels of Monk later.

Martial Classes: Barbarian, Fighter, Ranger, Paladin, or any appropriate.

Arcane Classes: Wizard, Sorcerer, or any appropriate (Sensei discourages Bards as “frivolous”).

Divine Classes: Cleric, Druid, or any appropriate.

Alignment (Drawback): Because you start with Monk levels and are part of a secret society devoted to stopping an ancient evil, LG or LN. Since the virtues and vices of the World of Man are new to the Talons, players are encouraged to re-evaluate alignment over the course of the campaign based on their experiences. However, be mindful of the effects of alignment change on class availability.

Feats: See above. Obviously, a Talon's background means that regional or ancestral feats and certain types of skills might be inappropriate for the character at first level. For example, the Talons probably know (or care) little about Knowledge (nobility), though they'd be quick to learn.

Hit Points: Maximum standard for 1st level (multi-class 1st level characters take the maximum HP from primary class). For future levels, roll twice and take the highest; this should be done in front of the DM.

Equipment (Bonus): ½ Standard (Sensei wants you to find your own way in the world).

• Special: Talon Tattoo: However, Sensei gives as much as he takes away. Sensei has emblazoned the order's symbol over the heart of each Talon; a dragon's claw with talons outstretched, as if reaching to attack a foe.
  1. The tattoo is invisible to all but a Talon and cannot be replicated through natural or magical means (for example, a Talon will always know the difference between his real companion and a Doppelganger or an illusion). The tattoo does not detect as magic, good or any other identifier accessible through Divination magic, and does not take up a magic item space.
  2. The tattoo makes the Talon immune to certain long-range Divination spells, such as Scry. At best, these spells narrow their location down to a particular continent. I will provide a list of affected spells.

Background (Drawback): Because the history of each Talon up to this point is the same, below is the background. This means no Talon will have a relationship outside of Sensei or the other Talons to start and no Talon will have memories outside the monastery. Feel free to put in specific childhood experiences during training (bitten by a snake; fell from a mountain; hurt a fellow Talon; became a fellow Talon's close friend, etc.). All Talons begin at approximately 18 years of age. No Talon knows the history of Leland-To or its surroundings, though it's easy to get brought up to speed.

Name: Talons do not have traditional family or given names. Talons were referred to by Sensei over time based on a life experience. Pick an “Eastern” or Native American-style name you feel would describe your character or a formative experience. However, you realize that such conventions may make you stick out in the World of Man; feel free to pick another name later as appropriate.

Background (Long): Note: In the interest of full disclosure, below is the nature of the meta-plot for characters interested in a meta-plot PC. If no one chooses this option, it will probably not be relevant to the campaign. If one or more PCs take the meta-plot option, then the rest of the party will find out about these events eventually:

The first thing you ever remember is purple smoke, then waking up in a cave to see Sensei, an incredibly ancient man of Eastern decent, standing over you.

“Why are you laying there? Your training began two hours ago.”

Those words amply describe the past 12 years of your childhood. Your surroundings defined isolation; the monastery consisted of a series of caves nested in a narrow valley surrounded by tall mountains. Those who tried to explore beyond the valley found themselves wandering back into its central glades, despite their best efforts. Animals and birds would sometimes find their way into the glade, but you could never follow them out.

You would arise at 7 am. Training specific to your Life Path would begin at 7:30, after a bath in a cold spring and a meal of meat and rice. Training would end when the Sun was at its highest point. After more rice would be two hours of tactical discussions, then three hours learning about the World of Man. A final meal, this time with vegetables and meat, would be followed by five hours of physical conditioning, then sleep.

When you were not training, Sensei would tell you the same story. By now it is etched in your memory:

“In a time long past, before the legendary empires of Cormanthyr, Delzoun, and Netheril and long before the foundation of any kingdom in existence today, there lived a powerful and terrible dragon warlord, Rokuchiangkamphan. While most dragons value riches above all else, Roku's compulsion was power over others. Even his chromatic cousins feared his ambition and Rokuchiangkamphan was defeated by dragons both good and evil after a failed bid to unite all wyrms under his claw. Feigning death in the conflict, the dragon wandered East to the lands now known as Kara-Tur. Assuming the human form of Roku Chiang to avoid suspicion, the dragon rechristened himself the “Red Warrior” and conquered Lok-Pai, the greatest kingdom in that land.

“For five centuries, Roku Chiang worked through conquest and guile to build that Lok-Pai into an empire. He corrupted the conquered nobility and the ancient centers of learning, creating a legion of devoted acolytes and warriors and employed terrible machines of war driven by powerful magic. Though the wealthy and devoted prospered, the vast majority of the population toiled in poverty or misery to slake Chiang's thirst for power.

“News from East to West travels slowly, but eventually legends of the Red Warrior reached dragon-kind. In retaliation, 4,000 years ago dragons of all hues flew east to destroy the Roku Chiang's might once and for all. But Roku's guile was too great; as the dragon army advanced he successfully quested to access the Cathexis, a multi-planar artifact of unimaginable power that grants the fortunate finder their greatest desire, but only if it can be justified as noble. At the Cathexis, Roku asked the artifact “that to protect my kingdom and my people, let no dragon ever be able to harm myself or my followers.” The Cathexis, reasoning that the dragon horde would kill hundreds of thousands, was persuaded that this was indeed a noble desire and granted Roku's wish.

“Taking advantage of their newfound invulnerability Chiang and his armies slew many of the opposing wyrms and drove the rest into retreat. This is why you will find so few dragons in the East today. His empire secure, Chiang then marched on the lands of the West with a single intent: world conquest. While the chromatic wyrms wanted secure a truce, their metallic cousins realized that Chiang and his followers could still be harmed by the “lesser” races. Thus, 4,000 years ago, while the fledgling nations of Cormanthyr and Netheril engaged Chiang's far superior army and the Dwarven nation of Delzoun sought safety through isolation, the metallic dragons assembled the eight greatest warriors from among men and elves.

“With the metallic dragons providing the greatest treasures from their hoards (most of which are now lost to time), and great magical protections, the eight warriors were able, at great personal cost, to magically imprison Chiang beneath the greatest mountain in the East. Their leader defeated, Chiang's empire quickly fell to in-fighting among his generals, many of whom went on to found the corrupt empire of Imaskar.

“As any wise one knows, even the greatest bonds weaken with age. The dragons knew Chiang would be freed through accident or design eventually and entrusted the knowledge of these events to a wise and great monk, the first Sensei, who then went into seclusion in this mountain. If Chiang were ever freed, she was instructed, no chances could be taken; she was to find eight more great warriors, train them in the ways of the fist, the sword and the spell, and send them into the world to actively oppose Roku Chiang.”

The last time Sensei told the story, two days ago, he added the following:

“For 200 generations, the first Sensei and her successors have prepared for this moment and now it has arrived. Rokuchiangkamphan has awakened. While thus far he has gone to ground and resisted all attempts magical and otherwise to locate him, I am beginning to hear stirrings in the ether; the time to confront and destroy him draws near.

“Go forth into the World of Man, seek the knowledge and prowess that only experience can bring. Let none know of your past or your charge, but make allies who will help you oppose the Dragon. This shall be my final lesson to you: as with any creature, Righteousness must use its natural weapons to defend itself. And if Righteousness is a magnificent beast, then you are certainly its Talons…”

The last thing you remember is the purple smoke engulfing you for the second time, then waking up in an unfamiliar glade. So this is the World of Man…