EwindaleMoss/TheHoleInCreation
WARNING: This campaign and its vastly modified house rules are based on making a mixed circle of DnD junkies and WoD junkies happy. Many rules push down to more detailed crunch because the majority wanted it to matter that they were carrying their backpack with them. It does. Barely. The epic level of storytelling is still there and planned to be in the future. But, in caring about my players input, loot, weapon grades, armor materials, all the little itty bitty teensy weensy details are there. Again, fair warning. Critique is welcome, complaining about playstyle is not.
This is where strange houserules and bizarre story telling collide and provide some kind of entertainment. Will be building as I have a chance.
Player Characters
- The Circle of The Silver Dawn
- Orion (Zenith Caste Ninja. That's Zenith Ninja. Less stealth, more righteous. He is Batman. Minus the not killing. And plus smashing things.)
- Orion (Zenith Caste Ninja. That's Zenith Ninja. Less stealth, more righteous. He is Batman. Minus the not killing. And plus smashing things.)
- Kitira (Twilight Caste Sorceress. EwindaleMoss/TarotSorcery was invented specifically for this character)
- Kitira (Twilight Caste Sorceress. EwindaleMoss/TarotSorcery was invented specifically for this character)
- Robin Goodfellow (Eclipse Caste Troublemaker. Essentially Puck with knife-fighting skills, a hearthstone that allows for glamour style illusions, and a propensity for NOT SEEING ANYTHING.)
- Robin Goodfellow (Eclipse Caste Troublemaker. Essentially Puck with knife-fighting skills, a hearthstone that allows for glamour style illusions, and a propensity for NOT SEEING ANYTHING.)
- The Kurgen (Dawn Caste tank. Huge, huge, and more huge. Has a very scary scythe and is my guinea pig for my brawling system...)
Major Antagonists
Ewindale Moss (Nasty Fair Folk Diplomat who has hated Robin Goodfellow since he was first Exalted and can Portal reflexively)
The Relentless Seeker (Based on someone's Alchemical character sheet for a half Predator, half Terminator combination, this is a fully automaton version, seeing as our house rules exclude Alchemicals entirely.)
Proud Onyx (deceased, brother and lover of Proud Opal)
Proud Opal (Traitorous leader of The League of Shadows who has betrayed The Silver Dawn in her lust for power)
The Maiden of Icy Silence (A former Silver Dawn circle member named Liesel, their Night caste. Now an Abyssal serving The Frozen Emperor with her chimerical Lunar Ikthiss.)
Valxregen (The Yozi known as The Fields of Rot and Sorrow, intending to use the keys The Silver Dawn seeks in order to be eternally freed from Malfeas)
Central Plot
The main plot for this was twofold. Number one, it would serve for myself and the players as a whirlwind tour of Creation. Number two, their main quest to acquire four keys, which begins as a quest to find the "Tear of Luna" that would restore the Lunar castes becomes even more epic in scope as they learn that the artifact in the temple to the north is far more important. It is the Eye of Autochthon (Goroumus in this campaign) and will repair a hole in Creation and Fate itself. Effectively, this will allow the Solars to make Disciples that can develop into Solars if they live long enough, Dragon-Blooded remember a time during the Primordial War where their ancestors feasted on a slaughtered field of the Dragon Kings and start gaining various lizard/reptile/dragon style boons, Lunars have the reformed castes, and Sidereals knowledge extends to those that Fate and Destiny cannot see. Also, the half-bloods of the world begin to grow in power at an exponential rate as Creation itself attempts to compensate for the powers of those scurrying about its surface.
One of the key points for this is that the shards, the Exaltation, etc are just lies and trimmings. Once the hole is repaired, the main PCs learn that the Exalted are in fact "Blooded" of a sort. They're simply children of more powerful gods whose souls are so "godly" that they keep being reborn as opposed to the Dragon-Blooded who can only pass their divinity on a little down the line . Finding out you aren't the Unconquered Sun's champion, you're his kid would change the dynamic between you and the local river god's kids a bit.
House Rules
This is probably going to be some of the meatiest bits from this campaign seeing as it is entirely based around someone having a 1E core rulebook and storyteller's guide for 8 years without ever finding someone to play with and never investing in the other books without someone interested in playing. Ergo, several custom pages of rules, including a extensive rework of the Lunars, Dragon-Blooded, Sidereals, and Half-Bloods.
Note #1: Fair Folk are far less like standard White Wolf Fair Folk and are a great deal more like Celtic Fair Folk. Various types of Fair Folk are uncovered, showing off the origin of the Seelie and Unseelie Courts with Sluagh, Elves, Eshu, etc. Same for Mountain Folk as many of them are essentially Morlocks, Dwarves, Drow, etc. These are generalizations but they fit better in a world where technology is stunted and for game purposes will NEVER reach Voltron style mecha/gun/beam. The other reason for this is a high concentration of our players respecting the unbridled chaos of The Wyld and The Raksha but wanting the ability to have more clearly defined groups of beings.
EwindaleMoss/MountainFolkCastesRevised
EwindaleMoss/FairFolkCastesRevised
Note #2: Lunars will have a beast form that allows them to do multiple things <i>a la some of the other incredible work done elsewhere on this wiki. Before trying to blend other people's systems into my own, have to playtest and ask for permission to post some of the results. Will do asap though. Further, in keeping step with all other caste and Exalt style revisions, they have been bumped back up to 5 castes. This was to aid in balancing both their new abilities and the other new(ish) types.
Note #3: Dragon-Blooded will have their own, more limited version of transformations. Their Breeding and Essence will ultimately dictate how much of a dragon's form they will eventually be able to assume (for those who played SNES, think classic Breath of Fire). This is tentative, and will entirely depend on how it works with the reworking of the fluff's flavor.
EwindaleMoss/RevisedDragonBlooded
Note #4: Sidereals have a set of Collegiums to pick from. Again, this was created out of a lack of Sidereal books and has been retrofit to work around astrology. After the initial portion of the campaign is complete, the Pattern Spiders web extends to reach further places than before, possibly indicating a new balance, possibly indicating the beginning of "The Weaver" (a WoD reference) going mad. The Collegiums are Alchemis, Arcanum, Celestalis, Chaosium, Infernalis, Nocturnis, and Terrestralis. These, aside from granting Virtue style bonuses for favored situations and enemies, are used to buy refinements to charms in order to briefly specialize against situations in keeping with the "broad powers, bend situation to match" line.
Note #5: Solars, Abyssals, and Infernals (still need to ask permission to borrow the framework for the infernals system before posting) all gain a Disciple system whereby they use their own powers to seed another individual. This provides an arduous task as it temporarily (min. 6 months) handicaps the Exalted who attempts to exalt another while high-lighting both themselves and their charge as juicy targets.
Note #6: Half-Bloods (including the Mountain Folk based Stone-Blooded) see an increase in general power and greater access to their parents' domains.
Note #6: Alchemicals stop existing. Goroumus (my alternative to Autochthon) is a non-technology guy. Guns do not exist, even in firewand format. Clockwork, steam, and magical golems are common in areas the Mountain Folk frequent and many of the Alchemical concepts are being transferred to them. They have become a playable race as Goroumus begins to Exalt them to bring a little advancement to the world.
Note #7: As this system was mainly engineered from 1E claiming that Solars had ability based charms, Dragon-Blooded focused on rerolls, Sidereals on difficulty changers, Lunars on attribute changers, and Abyssals on negating abilities, the charm hierarchy looks... well... a LOT different. Below are the attempts to build trees from, essentially, scratch based on these concepts.
Session Write-Ups
I've always been keen on giving my players a written story to accompany their adventures. This will be where all this goes.
The Coming of The Dawn
- Prologue: What We Seek; What We Find
- Part 1: The Taking of The Stone
Within Lagrev the Slug's merchant caravan, three souls were seeking something. One was hunting for vengeance, one for justice, and the other for something... shiny. They weren't aware what else they would find that night, nor could they have known how many would be after it as well.
- Part 1: The Taking of The Stone
- Part 2: A Silver Sun Rises
After claiming what each of they had come for, Kitira, Orion, and Robin followed She Who Stalks back to the Temple of Harmonious Rest where their previous incarnations rested beneath the earth. However, those looking for them were growing ever closer.
- Part 2: A Silver Sun Rises
- Chapter 1: The Tide Coming In
- Part 3: The Falling Star of Bah-Du-Rahl
To Bah-Du-Rahl the three adventurers headed, still unsure of traveling together, even with their pasts revealed. However, on the path, they are assaulted by a former student of Orion and Robin has to contend with one of Ewindale Moss' sons.
- Part 3: The Falling Star of Bah-Du-Rahl
- Part 4: The Cold Wind of Death
Orion's leader at the League of Shadows has disappeared, leaving behind a store of information for the adventurers to work off of. However, before these notes can be acted upon, Bah-Du-Rahl comes under attack by the undead forces of The Frozen Emperor.
- Part 4: The Cold Wind of Death
- Part 5: Sons of Blood and Iron
After dealing with the threat of the undead and gaining a few followers in the process, Robin Goodfellow departs without a word to fetch one of the four keys from their former tomb, The Temple of Harmonious Rest. However, there are multiple foes hiding in wait for them.
- Part 5: Sons of Blood and Iron
- Part 6: Thorns and Brambles
Sailing up the river towards Nexus and the great Northern Ocean, a rotting crow imparts a message to the heroes that is not to be taken lightly; A representative of The Mask of Winters would like to have a word.
- Part 6: Thorns and Brambles
- Chapter 2: The Road To Darkdwelt
- Part 7: Night Creeps
With The Blade That Bleeds From Shadows dead, his troops free to head south to Bah-Du-Rahl, and a treaty made with The Extravagent Darkness That Lurks in Gloom in regards to never letting The Frozen Emperor gain possession of the keys, the journey continues. Little do they know, they are about to receive a visit in the night and two of them are going to be carried off.
- Part 7: Night Creeps
- Part 8: The Pride of the Fleet
His Illustrious Tomb of Pearls is sinking to the bottom of the river, great chunks of wood embedded in his flesh. Horace, cousin to Willow, Yew, and Thorne of Bah-Du-Rahl is dealing with his sinking ship. Proud Onyx has made his presence known. Damien Flint of House Cynis is dueling Robin Goodfellow and has scored two strikes across his brow... but at least Kitira has been freed.
- Part 8: The Pride of the Fleet
- Part 9: Ripples in the River
With their journey continuing northward past Nexus, the three members of The Silver Dawn find themselves coming into port at the small city of Gull Haven where the river has ceased to flow. However, it appears that they are not the only adventurers in town. Still, something seems strange about these “heroes” and their preference for violence.
- Part 9: Ripples in the River
- Part 10: The Downward Spiral
After having sorted out the issues within Gull Haven and learning of potential problems coming down the pike in the future, our three intrepid adventurers weigh anchor and head north through The Borlis Wastes to Darkdwelt and hopefully the second key. However, there's a curious Mountain Folk waiting for them there... with an even larger problem growing beneath their feet.
- Part 10: The Downward Spiral
- Part 11: Order In The Court
It seems the Fae Court is in a bit of turbulence with Ewindale having risen to power despite Robin's warnings. Now, Robin must fight a duel in order to save his mentor and ally while Orion and Kitira are left to ensure that all of those present are playing fair...
- Part 11: Order In The Court
- Chapter 3: That Which Courses Westward
- Part 12: Sea of Death
- Part 12: Sea of Death
- Part 13: The March of Dragons
- Part 13: The March of Dragons
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