Fono's campaign setting: Tarsius [WIP]

[Clow]

Alright, before I get back to building the flow of the campaign, random ideas and spoilers. This is just to get some of what's in my head written down somewhere for later, basically. So, things.

Both story lines involve the party either inciting or preventing war, the first being Eupharas and Doren fending off a power-hungry Tipharas and the other being Fut'Mundas being misguided into attacking Bulnd-Hugn. Let's look at what causes both of these major conflicts.

Spoilers n' sheit.

Eupharas and Doren v. Tipharas:

• It's been long known that the two Pharalan Empires have had a terrible relationship with one another. Corruption and greed run deep within the privileged and elite of Tipharas, while Eupharas has been a place for the kind and just. Although as a mixing pot it is hard for the Eupharan leadership to speak for all of its people, the throne itself has a progressive and positive history. Regardless, the point is that tensions between the two have always been high since their splitting off from one another.
• Prana. Prana, prana, prana. Ever since the Elves of Doren discovered its secrets, everyone wanted a slice of the pie. Tipharas especially was very assertive in their interest in it given the throne's obsession with magic and controlling it. When they were denied access it was taken by the boorish and greedy king as an insult. When it was given first and only to Eupharas it was all but spitting in their face to them.
• After prana, tensions are pretty fucking high between the two sides. It quickly gets to the point where Tipharas is actively making threats towards both nations, but especially Doren, asking them to hand over prana's secrets. A number of events occur around the same time, among them being one of Tarsus' daughters running away with a member of Eupharas' royal family à la Helen of Troy, and the other being a clumsy plot by King Tarsus to steal documents on prana from Eupharas being exposed. The kings meet face-to-face to discuss the matters at hand and the futures of their kingdoms but King Tarsus loses his temper when his failed thievery plot is brought up and runs King Euphric through with his sword. He then grabs his daughter and flees. The king was very beloved by his people, and his nephew, the partner of Tarsus' daughter, was left the throne. All of this, unsurprisingly, incites war.

And so the new king, fueled by his rage against his uncle's death and desire to save his loved one, takes his people to war. The line of Tarsus has ruled too cruelly for too long. He sets out to destroy the royal family, for the good of both nations. The elves, although usually peaceful, also mourn for the former king, and know that the death of the Tarsus family line would be for the greater good. Knowing this, the Council of Eight decides to take their people to war. The military giant Tipharas now has to face two great enemies from two different fronts in a great battle that will reshape the continent of Pharalan.

Fut'Mundas v. Bulnd-Hugn:
We've already touched up quite well on the awkward relationship that these two countries have with one another in the post above. This is a factor, of course, but what starts war? Something is working against peace, from the shadows.

• Obviously, the Dwarves of Bulnd-Hugn grow tired of the assaults made by members of Su'Laug. Honestly, they're pretty pissed at this point. This adds to the tensions between the two races, even with the knowledge that the Orcs that answer to the Highthane are pretty much on their side with this issue. TL;DR: RACISM, HAHA.
• While the fields of Fut'Mundas belonging to the Highthane are being razed by the Su'Laug, the Highthane does a large amount of business with their neighbors, the Gnomes of Tulia. A specific, very powerful merchant sells them thousands of pounds of food such as wheat, corn, and other produce, as well as some livestock that they have difficulty farming and raising themselves in sufficient quantities. His name is Gidrick Golblight. Turns out his greed leads him to forge a partnership with the Su'Laug because, you know, they're bringing him a lot of business through the Highthane. He only assists them with supplies and information at first. However, with time he becomes more and more involved with them until they finally convince him that the best thing for his business would be for Fut'Mundas to go to war with Bulnd-Hugn. The Highthane would place orders for almost endless amounts of supplies from Gidrick, and while the Highthane's forces are weak and distracted the Su'Laug could land the killing blow. Both sides benefit so much that Gidrick could hardly refuse. Plus, you know, if he did the Su'Laug would try to kill him. Gidrick himself is scary but yeah, Su'Laug. Regardless, a plot is hatched. While tensions between the two nations are at their peak Gidrik would arrange for a series of powerful events. The first, the spreading of false rumors about the Highthane throughout Bulnd-Hugn. Among them are everything from how she is no different than the Su'Laug in despising Dwarves and wanting their lost land back to smaller lies as simple as her spitting in the face of a messenger sent straight from Ardim himself. Regardless, he's simply paying people to spread these rumors around the major Dwarven cities to get the masses riled up. The larger part of the plan, however, takes place in Fut'Mundas. Made to take advantage of the temperament of someone with Orcish blood, this plan is meant to throw shake the Council of Thanes into a furious frenzy, making the rest of the populace follow suit. Now, I have a lot in mind for this, but I'll basically put it like this: Gidrik plans to assassinate Draksha, and then further trick Grekka into thinking that Kodar Nagithas betrayed her and assisted the Dwarves in her assassination. She is also meant to be tricked into thinking that the Ardim had struck up a deal with the Su'Laug, giving him the specific motivation to assassinate Draksha. Something along the lines of "Bring us the heads of the Council of Thanes and we shall never disturb you again." Depending on the actions of the players' party things can go one of two ways:
• [1]: At a point in their travels the party has a chance to capture or kill a courier sent by Gidrik and bound for members of the Su'Laug. The letter outlines enough of the unfolding plot to make Gidrik suspect, and leads the party down a series of discoveries that unveils the plot. At that point Grekka tries to seek peace with the Dwarves once again, and unless the players do something outrageous is able to convince the Dwarves to assist her in crushing the Su'Laug. Alternatively, the players would be inside the same building as Draksha when the assassination is attempted. The players have a chance to thwart the assassins and, once again, find a letter that incriminates Gidrik.
• [2]: Gidrik's plan goes off without a hitch. The Dwarven populace grows increasingly furious as time passes. Draksha is assassinated, and the Dwarves framed for everything stated above: Draksha's assassination, assisting the Su'Laug, and wanting the heads of the rest of the Council of Thanes. Grekka, in her rage, leads her people in a march against the border of Fut'Mundas and Bulnd-Hugn. Despite Ardim's confusion and dismay, a battle ensues, and a war between the two nations begins.

So, will peace reign? Or will war and conflict rip apart what delicate bridges the two races have worked so hard to build between one another once again? Either way, the rage of the Highthane will fall down upon someone, and Gods help them when it does.

There are a lot of details to work out but that is basically it. I haven't thought about what exactly to do once the wars begin yet.

And I think that'll do it for tonight.

[Clow]

FUCK WRITING THIS SHIT IS FUN.

[Clow]

Well I'm just now going to bed, and this is why.

The map has changed a wee bit, by the way. CAN YOU SPOT THE FUT'MUNDAS!?

http://aserverwith.no-ip.org/imagehost/ ... ullfqf.jpg

This isn't even cleaned. Nice and dirty right out of the scanner, chocolate stains and all. Expect a colored and labeled version tomorrow, but for now oh god... I have to sleep.

[Clow]

HOLY SHIT FUCK DRAWING MAPS.

THIS SHIT TOOK 10 HOURS.

[Clow]

So, are we happy with the v2 map?

It's a little more detailed if anything.

[Clow]

I know, right? It's literally the best thing ever. So, let us briefly describe the places you haven't seen before:

Terkecil:
As you may have guessed (good person with working brain, good!) Terkecil is related to Kecil. Terkecil is a smaller Halfling settlement under the protection of the Elves of Doren. Although friendly with their relatives from Kecil, the two populations are pretty isolated from one another and Halflings from Terkecil are considered more worldly, socially advanced, and intelligent then their cousins for a number of reasons, chief among them being both their lack of geographic isolation and their long and intimate intermingling with the Elves.

Hrunguul:
Hrunguul is a pair of large islands off of the northeast coast of Mystwood known for its dense population of Goblinoids. Diving into history leads one to find that in older times they inhabited what is not Mystwood before it became what it is, and ran north when they had to abandon their ancient home. Although there are a few settlements on Mystwood's northern coast left, most set sail for Hrunguul, leading to what it is today.

Mystwood:
Mystwood is infamous for being the major obstacle most merchants trying to move goods through the southern continent have to face. It is a thick lush forest that covers a giant area between Tulud Erda and Doren. What makes it unique is that the forest is largely comprised of a special tree. These trees release a dense mist throughout most of the year. Visibility is so low that you could get lost ten feet in. This is not the only thing special about the forest, however. A number of vicious flora and fauna now dominate the forest, thriving in a habitat that damns those who rely on eyesight. Anyone who enters the Mystwood and returns alive is given a hero's welcome. There are rumors of an extreme clan of druids who call it their home, however.

Tulud Erda:
Tulud Erda is a giant desert planted in between Tulia and Mystwood. There aren't many inhabitants, although there are strings of merchant villages due to its central location in the southern continent making it important for trade routes. Its inhabitants are sparse and of mixed races, but a larger portion of people who live there are Gnomes. This is largely because of it being adjacent to Tulia and because many larger merchant cartels seem to be run by Gnomes.

Uzgamal:
Honestly not 100% on what to do with this. I may make my own race or use some obscure one from somewhere, but for now let's go with Kobolds! Everyone loves Kobolds.

The Black Forest:
Although most of the lands just north of Fut'Mundas and Tulia are inhabited by the Orcish, the Black Forest is where the bulk of the rogue Orcish population lies. It was originally said that the founders of Fut'Mundas descended from the north to separate from their brethren. They chose to run east as several mountains ranges and a large desert shielded them from their brutal relatives' pursuit. The northern part of Tulia regularly suffers from attacks from Orcish raiders, and it had been confirmed that a large portion of them belong to the Su'Laug.

Tolnithe:
Tolnithe was named by the Elves long ago. It means "shattered spearhead" in their tongue, a name given to it because of its appearance. It is a large group of mountainous islands north of Fut'Mundas and the unclaimed roughlands dead north of it. It is largely uninhabited other than its native flora and fauna, with the occasional small oddball town or pirate hideout. It is also a land almost untouched by time. The magic forces that reside within Tarsius still rage around the islands of Tolnithe. It has regular earthquakes, disastrous storms, and is infested with elementals. It is a very difficult environment to live in, hence few people venturing there.

Rutil:
Rutil is a human settlement south of Eupharas. It is what many consider to be the prime example of Eupharas' fair and benevolent rule. Rutil originally belonged to Eupharas, but because of its isolation from the mainland it began to feel like its own entity after some time. It eventually requested autonomy, and after several years of peaceful negotiations was granted it. It still holds an outstanding relationship with Eupharas, and allows Eupharas to pass trade goods through its lands. This is most important because it allows trade ships stopping at Rutil on their way north to Eupharas to restock on supplies, taking some burden off of the long journey.

[Clow]

Dumped a lot of the info from here to my blogspot blog just in case.

You can also expect a timeline sometime in the near future. Look forward to it!

[Clow]

I very much enjoy the organized blogspot version of this information. Glad to see this coming together well.

Thanks!

On a side note, I decided to doodle just a bit to play around. I wanted to draw out Gidrik since I had a pretty decent idea of what I wanted him to look like. Didn't turn out too poorly!

Spoiler: show

Spoiler: show

Hmm... He doesn't look much like a villain, does he?

[Forb]

Haha! He looks so villainous!

Maybe to make him look a little less boyish, you could mess around with the lines that form his cheeks.