The timeline of the World of the Everflow is getting harder for me to track. There have been six campaigns with some overlap in both reality and at the table. In order for me to keep better track of events and so that the players and their characters have a better idea of events in the past prior to the campaign I started to build a timeline.
The desire is that these are basically small phrases containing history, not a book of common knowledge to study. I’ll be adding to this as the players remind me of events, create things from their own history or ask questions.
Red Oak burns, allowing red dragons to be born; Uprising & Rebellion 1; 7th Fleet of Daoud encamps to the south of Kirtin-on-the-Lake
Five years ago
Dragons and the Ken fly to Kirtin-on-the-Lake; Sheljar is freed from Necromancy and the Tunneling Nightmares; some Scholars (Diviner, Necromancer) are made public; Kin can learn magic
Six years ago
Goblin Queen’s Fleet lands near Sheljar; Discovery of the Lorebook of Divination; Children of Chorl created; Eruption of Dakan Thaeeb; Lorebook Hunters start their search
Twenty-seven years ago
Sheljar falls to the Necromancer
Twenty-eight years ago
Born Generation
Seventy years ago
Crinth Confederation re-structures to stop expansion of Azsel
One hundred and twenty-two years ago
Kirtin loses Kirtin-on-the-Lake again
Two hundred and twenty-four years ago
Kirtin retakes Kirtin-on-the-Lake
Four hundred and sixty-four years ago
Daoud takes Kirtin-on-the-Lake
Seventeen hundred years ago
Az and Sel establish the Bond, rising to godhood; other bondings besides dogs are discovered; the Goliath nation of Galinor disappears
Two thousand years ago
Church of Quar controls the Everflow and the Font of Two paths, becoming a continent wide faith; Mehmd closes off the empire with foreigners only allowed at Gate
Millenia ago
Quar and the gods create Habergeon, the Everflow and separate the Lands of the Six Kingdoms from the world of magic
In my Uprising & Rebellion Campaign Two the players decided to take on the Mayor’s forces in the open, rather than the dead of night or through obfuscation. In response the Mayor and his forces attacked their home base, the Rusty Clam. Dungeons & Dragons doesn’t do great for large battles.
A few tweaks I made to more represent the fiction of a rebellious militia and their allies defending their most significant resource were;
Have the minions represent half of a squad. The idea here was that the lesser trained guards would break morale when they lost half their group.
Allow the PCs to set up themselves up where they wanted. This is their territory. They know it best.
Added actions to represent the other rebels and commoners who side with the goals of the uprising. These Militia Actions operate similar to Lair Actions. That initial use has been modified here.
Militia Actions
For the session these operated as a Lair Action for each PC. They were taken on the initiative count 10 after their own initiative, which worked out as PC1, enemy1, Militia Action1. That part was a success.
Each Militia Action was tied to a saving throw by the NPCs. These were designed for Tier 2 play as that’s where the PCs in question are at this time, but since I used cantrips as a guideline they are easy to adjust.
Funnel – the militia and/or commoners in support of your cause build a wall using objects or themselves to block a path. This wall is 5′ long per tier of play. A successful Strength save (DC 10/15/20/25 based on tier) enables the enemy to ignore the wall.
Falling or Thrown Objects – the militia and/or commoners in support of your cause pick up objects nearby and throw them at the enemy. These objects do 1d8 damage per tier of play in a space that is 5×5/10x/10/15×15/20×20 by tier. A successful Dex save results in half damage (DC 10/15/20/25).
Overturn Stand or Cart – the militia and/or commoners in support of your cause create an area of difficult terrain by using common objects to clutter the path. Any enemy passing through the area moves must use twice their movement through the 5×5/10x/10/15×15/20×20 space by tier. They may attempt to move at normal speed, and if using the Dash or Disengage actions, must succeed on a Con save (DC 10/15/20/25) or take 1d6 per tier damage and fall Prone.
(this one needs the most work)
Harass – the militia and/or commoners in support of your cause harass and pester the enemies in such a way that limits their defenses. This can be done by word or by minor physical altercation. The next attack by that enemy NPC or intelligent monster is at disadvantage. A successful Int save (DC 10/15/20/25) results in no disadvantage.
Distract – the militia and/or commoners in support of your cause harass and pester the enemies in such a way that limits their attacks. This can be done by word or by minor physical altercation. The next attack against that enemy NPC or intelligent monster is at advantage. A successful Int save (DC 10/15/20/25) results in no advantage.
Rally – the militia and/or commoners in support of your cause shouts in support of the PCs. The PCs are then granted 1d6 temporary hit points per tier of play. A successful Cha save (DC 10/15/20/25) by the leader of the enemy results in no temporary hit points being granted, this is to represent their ability to speak over or interrupt the rallying calls.
Changes for the future?
I may tie these to various skills or tools rather than saving throws. I had the players roll, and asking players to roll under for a success just didn’t make sense.
Finally, I think I would allow a summoned swarm from the Propagandist use these when the Propagandist commands them via a bonus action. This would help raise the power level of a subclass that lacks in combat, though in many campaigns this wouldn’t be enough.
Design Goals
The primary inspirations for these actions were to mimic some of the play of Assassin’s Creed, where the small crowd of neutrals and allies can support your violence. There are also scenes in Black Sails where the common people of Nassau join the fight against the British. The invasion of Tear and other conflicts in the Wheel of Time feature actions by commoners supporting the heroes too. Various Robin Hood tales, the rescue of The Shire, the movie Aladdin, and so many other tales have common peoples helping the heroes by impeding the enemy.
While highly urbanized campaigns aren’t common in D&D, they should be supported. The literature and other inspirations for the game do have these elements. Our game can include them in ways that are more than just background story.
The smogpunk land of goblins in the World of the Everflow was set apart from the Kingdom of Sheljar, Crinth, and other areas for a few millennia. Within this separation the goblins and hobgoblins changed from the standard tropes.
In the Everflow they answer to the Queen Mother. Everyone is organized around their family’s history of developing teknology for one of the various guilds. Inventiveness and cleverness are more important than fighting and viciousness.
To emphasize these differences, but still capture traditional goblinoid feelings there should be a some differences in language. This discovery of numerals from the 13th century feels proper for the gobkon of the world.
The Cistercian monks invented a numbering system in the 13th century which meant that any number from 1 to 9999 could be written using a single symbol pic.twitter.com/VRuEx4dkPF
— UCL Department of Mathematics (@MathematicsUCL) February 2, 2021
It works in a printing press, scribbled on paper or carved into wood.
Will it ever see the table? Probably not. Or maybe just one or two numbers in a handout for the players to demonstrate the differences between their lands with the languages of Telse (Common) and the rest of the Six Kingdoms.
If there was a campaign book for the World of the Everflow this could be a tiny sidebar for flavor, not a rule for use.
In my campaigns we use experience points rather than milestone levelling. But, we also spend time in the social and exploration pillars, where the game as designed provides little guidance towards the experience that should be rewarded for success overcoming obstacles beyond traps.
Rewarding the play I want to see, I have given out xp for solved plot points and discoveries. In the past these have been given out at the end of a session without the players knowing ahead of time what their character rewards would be.
I’m going to attempt to pull back that veil, listing out major plots and side quests with xp values. My goal is so that the player characters will be rewarded for developing their stories and the overall campaign.
Major plots
Daoud’s 7th Fleet vs Twilight and Shadow the Black Dragons vs the Mayor with the Blue Dragons vs assembling Kirtinish forces on the east shore – 10,000 xp
Kirtin-on-the-Lake is now torn between two of the Six Kingdoms and the separate appeals of two groups of Ken. Twilight and Shadow seem to thrive on misery, sucking up negative emotions from the war. The Mayor has gifted the Blue dragons significant territory and their co-operation requires unbonding from animal companions.
The 7th Fleet wants to take the city back to Daoud. It is actually a massive cavalry army with horses, riding dogs and warbirds. Kirtin’s forces sit, waiting for the three sides to destroy each other and sweep back into the city as welcomed heroes.
Our heroes haven’t picked a side, because they are all bad. In the past they’ve hoped for trade or normality looking to Sheljar for inspiration.
Our heroes have the Lorebook of Illusions and the Crate of Conjuration. They suspect there is another Lorebook locally and a fourth may be in The Ferments. They know not what power the Lorebooks provide, just that a group called the Scholars control them and the Proctors are a violent segment of Ken who are trying to acquire the various books. The world knows that the Folio of Necromancy and the Lorebook of Divination are in Sheljar.
Defending their books from other Proctors or Scholars is as important as finding more, probably.
Unseat the Mayor – 7,500 xp — COMPLETED
The Mayor has turned his back on Daoud and joined with the Blue Dragons and their Ken allies. Even if the heroes cannot yet sway the four-sided war, the group wants the Mayor eliminated via election, appointment or violence — he just needs to be gone.
Side quests
Where is Wilkie? – 2,500 xp — COMPELETED
One of their allies, Wilkie, former leader of the Dock District Guard fled. With their leader in hiding the Dock District has dissolved back to an ad hoc militia. The group of heroes had trusted Wilkie to defend their district.
Missing Printers – 2,500 xp — COMPLETED
The printing press and gobkon printers’ office burnt down in a dragon strike. No bodies were found. Once in hiding, then public, the Society of Veil and Shadow has again disappeared. Their pro-Sheljar message remains known, but there have been no broadsheets in three passings of Feylf.
Is the new flag of quill and sword related to their absence?
Bounties – 2,500 xp — COMPLETED
Each of the known heroes has a bounty of 2,500 gold on them. This is mostly because the Mayor hates them for the murder of the gnome during his festival. But also because they keep trying to inspire the people toward concepts like freedom and respect.
Character quests
Keldrass wants to repair the bonds broken by the black dragons and help protect the city from the Ken.
Gardar wants to increase the trade with Mehmd, earn respect outside of the caste system there and maybe have his own Goltoppa team.
Seymore wants to teach commoners magic, because even though he doesn’t trust it the people need the power. He’s done a bit of this by spreading Minor Illusion.
Req wants to maintain the independence of the Dock District.
This campaign is set seven years after the Lorebook Hunters returned magic to the World of the Everflow. It is set in the Free City of Sheljar, and is centered on clearing portions of the bog-city from the return of undead and tunneling nightmares. Combat and exploration will be heavier than social play at the beginnnig. Every character is united in keeping residents of Sheljar safeand mostly unified in the ideals of Free Shejlar (all thinking peoples have value), but may have differing concepts about how to do so.
The bog-city of Sheljar sits in a lowland below a waterfall. The climate is cool and wet, think the lowlands of the upper Salish, the moors of Scotland with a boggy multi-island brackish lake similar to New Orleans.
Campaign Premise
The party is a group of guards that volunteered and is paid to help the Lorebook Hunters keep the people of Sheljar safe from skeletons, zombies, wights and other undead. Tunneling Nightmares may have returned to isles in the bog-city as well. They will start in the old neighborhood of Jherr as recent migrants have noticed a cavern with odd noises and smells.
Made using Perilous Shores, this is the neighborhood of Jherr, to the north and east of the core of Sheljar. The southeast corner is less brackish than most of the bog-city, almost an internal fresh water space.
Background
The Flag of the Free City of Sheljar features the moon Feylf in crescent, a white triangle entering a field of the sea and Boo, in his skeletal form.
Once upon a time, the Empire of Sheljar ruled all of the Western Wildes, from the Cliffs of Galinor to Mira to Qin. Then, the Born Generation of magically imbued teens (27 years ago) caused chaos and disruption, upending the old ways. One of the Born Generation, the Necromancer, thought he was doing good, keeping dying peoples and animals with their families, but these horrifying undead monstrosities were often rejected. As he raised more and more, people fled Sheljar, emptying it out, leaving the bog-city nearly abandoned to the Necromancer and his unliving nightmares. A misty stench then started to control the city and more people fled.
It was not until after the eruption of the volcano, the battle of Cortez and Chorl, and the Lorebook Hunters eventually slaying the Necromancer that Sheljar felt free again. Now, six years later the Free City of Sheljar welcomes all thinking peoples. Those that return to their former homes have their property back. Those without homes are granted plots and space with the promise of aid. Few ships dock at Sheljar, but that number increases every month.
Sheljar has several dozen gobkon, a few dozen Ken with no known dragons, but most of its 2,000 generally agrarian peoples are various Kin with their animal companions. The Gendarmes and the Lorebook Hunters are the only standing ‘army.’ Most of the residents are frontier peoples ready to defend their cottages but only have clubs and other utensils as weapons.
A map of the former Empire of Sheljar, now a series of independent city-states and free towns.
Grand Conflicts
At the start this is a simple island of the week adventure, where the Gendarmes are responsible for discovering and clearing pockets of undead.
Factions
Lorebook Hunters – this is the leadership of Sheljar.
Cult of Nak – these are the remnants of Chrol’s transformations.
Fort Ooshar is under control of the Fox and Crow, a gang that sees opportunity to raid the migrants heading to Sheljar
A death cult has taken over the lands west of Telse.
Rumors
The Folio of Necromancy may be missing. Saffron had held it prior to rising to part of the leadership council.
What is that stench out east? Tunneling Nightmares?
The Volcano of the Glass Tower is glowing.
Facets
Exploring the zero-to-hero tropes, friendship with animals, and who gets to control knowledge.
Sandbox play.
Player agency creates history.
Drop in/drop out, whatever. This is an episodic campaign.
Sessions are 60-90 minutes. Adventures are 1-3 sessions.
Variant Rules
Playable races are Human, Hin(what they call themselves)/Halfling, Goliath/Firbolg, Elf, Dwarf, Gnome (wood only), Goblin, Hobgoblin, Bugbear.
Use point buy or standard array for starting attributes. If you want something random, the redrick roller gives random point buy valid stats.
Start at 1st level because several are new to the game, let’s learn together.
The Gendarmes start with a small sailing boat (Crew:4 for rudder, sails, a repeating heavy crossbow, and a fire sling).
Long rests require 24 hours within sanctuary. This creates a pace of play more similar to novels than video games.
Practicum
Sessions will be on Wednesdays right after work, played over Meet with shared screen used to help set the scene. Theater of the Mind will be the most common form of combat, ideally using cinematic descriptions which will grant Inspiration. There is a campaign on DnDBeyond, used only by the participants rather than open to public.
The Strixhaven mascots make great familiars, but they’re a bit weak compared to the other options available after 1st level. The imp is clearly the power-play. It’s a CR 1 monster, not the 1/4 and 1/2. And while that’s not a significant problem, it’s one that can be fixed. What would you need to do to make the Inkling Mascot a more permanent companion/familiar?
Recently other companions are designed around un-fluffed stat blocks. The Primeval Druid has a beast, but all description is up to the to the player and DM. One of the players in the Uprising & Rebellion campaign is a multiclass Warlock-Rogue, who just leveled up in Warlock and took Pact of the Chain for the slightly boosted familiar.
Combining the player’s desire with recent history means I’ll be making a few adjustments to Nerinmil’s familiar.
First, the quick part. A bunch of stuff is going to get that character’s Proficiency Bonus (Stealth, to hit, a bonus Armor Class, uses of Ink Spray per Long Rest). We’re also going to add Perception as a proficient skill, because the player has mostly been a ranged attacker and spy who wants to enhance their current role via the familiar.
Because the player really liked the imp, I’ll be granting the ooze-y Improved Inkling resistance to bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage. Also, because of that spy role desire, I’m adding in a Reaction: Ichorous Form – When an opponent makes an opportunity attack the Improved Inkling may take use its reaction to flow around the attempted attack if it has perceived the attacker. That opponent than has disadvantage on its attack role.
We’ll also be boosting its mental attributes to Int: 10, Wis: 12, Cha: 10 and dropping the Strength to a 6.
Spot hanging out in his bottle (photo by Jill Burrow on Pexels.com)
Armor Class 16 Hit Points 18 Speed 10 ft., fly 45 ft. (hover) Initiative +3
Reaction: Ichorous Form – When an opponent makes an opportunity attack the Improved Inkling may take use its reaction to flow around the attempted attack if it has perceived the attacker. That opponent than has disadvantage on its attack role.
This was a quick and dirty reskin and improvement based on conversations with the player. It works for the world, where the founder dragons from Strixhaven are part of the Ken’s power center. It works for the character, because his rogue class will eventually be a Propagandist. Using a amorphous ink thing to pick up rumors to put in the broadsheet is perfect.
tl;dr – reskin official creatures to make them appropriate for your world.
Rather than a one sheet that’s built for players, and the way the game is played, this is the common knowledge sheet that’s built for characters. The goal is a the level of knowledge that every single member of the adventuring party would have (some exceptions for extreme outsider situations).
Magic is only a generation old in the Lands of the Everflow. Just over one passing of the Dragon (the 4th moon) ago, a born generation came about that all knew minor magics. Just seven years ago the eruption of Cortez broke the barriers of magic. The Lorebook Hunters found the Tome of Divination and the Folio of Necromancy. As magic returned to the world so did dragons, and elves, and goblins with their smog-punk teknology. Magic is real; and the world is not ready for the Born Generation as they age. Some empires fade, others rise, and peoples throughout see the beacon of a Free Sheljar as a new way to govern as the Lands of the Everflow continue to shake under threats for teknology, dragons, and magic.
The Six Kingdoms
Kon
Crinth
Azsel
Mira
Mehmd
Sheljar
The Slope
Fey Isles
Telse
Kirtin
Qin
KotL
Daoud Green Lands
A word map of the six kingdoms
That’s a word-map of the Six Kingdoms with a few of the major cities that have featured in the various campaigns. This gives indications to their relative distance from each other. Since the commoner wouldn’t necessarily have an accurate map, the word-map demonstrates the proximity of the lands to each other.
This map is highly inaccurate, the fanciful dreams of an inauthentic narrator from the Fey Isles.
Azsel
A highly structured society built around small families and packs, the Kingdom of Azsel is mostly hin/halflings and their dog companions that trace their lineage to Az and Sel, the first bondings. Every King and Queen traces their lineage to Az, sometimes clearly and sometimes not. Azselites tend to be hierarchical, loyal, and have a strong sense of superiority because of their founder being the one who enabled bondings.
They are an expansionist society pushing against Crinth in the West and Kirtin in the South. They tend to ignore Mehmd. Messenger dogs keep outlying cities, towns, and forts in touch with the capital.
Crinth Confederation
Not really a singular government, the Crinth Confederation is a loose alliance of the northernmost peoples in the Land of the Everflow. Named after the River Crinth, the Confederation is ‘headquartered’ in Thornewall. Goliaths are most common here, particularly those that roam the plains, forest, and tundra. Crinthians have the strongest connection to nature and their architecture attempts to blend living plants into their homes and buildings. Myths from Crinth talk about a time when the bonded animals were large enough for homesteads to be carried on their backs — turtles, birds, mastiffs, snakes.
Daoud, the Green Lands, and the Emerald Isle
The grandest fleets of the Six Kingdoms come from Daoud. Naval power is so important to this dispersed nation that even the armies are called navies. Daoud’s forces will raid using rivers, and that’s how they’ve captured Kirtin-on-the-Lake, but also why they struggle to advance into the more mountainous territories of Kirtin and Qin. A land of warmth and greenery, Daoud is full of bright colors and loose fabrics. Similar to Mehmd, there is more variety in bonding with monkeys and fish being common enough, including some who carry their bonded fish in special bags and bowls while they travel.
Kirtin-on-the-Lake
Once the winter capital of Kirtin, the city has changed hands several times over the centuries. Currently it is controlled by Daoud. The largest university in the Six Kingdoms predates both Kirtin and Daoud, and may connect to the times before legends.
Kirtin
A land at war to the north and to the south, having lost one capital, the people of Kirtin all serve a summer season in the militia. In recent years this has meant service on the Slope, in the past these defensive posts were scattered throughout the mountain homeland of Kirtin. The former Summer Capital of Kirtin, Kirtin-in-the-Sky is a city of winding spires along a cliff face where it is difficult to tell the difference between natural and person-made. Once the center of learning, Kirtin is now a nation of defense.
The Slope
Coming down from the mountains The Slope is a frontier land not really controlled by Kirtin or Azsel. Both of those kingdoms send forces to the area regularly, usually in a soft-conflict as the villages along the Slope are unconcerned with empire. Many of Kirtin’s national militia serve on the Slope now that the kingdom has mostly given up on retaking the former winter capital, Kirtin-on-the-Lake.
Mehmd
The peoples of Mehmd bond not just with the warm-blooded as the rest of the Six Kingdoms, Mehmd also bonds with lizards and ‘saurs. Oft considered the least of the Six, Mehmd is sometimes considered just a city-state, rather than a kingdom. Water is somewhat scarce as the city sits just beyond the rain shadow from the mountains of Kirtin. Mehmd’s rocky land is crossed with aqueducts and canals taking water to the city.
Gate to the Wastes
Mehmd’s largest city is the only one that the rest of the Six Kingdoms encounter. Gate is open to all, but closes of the lands beyond. It is also the largest city of the Six Kingdoms, but on a tiny amount of land.
Sheljar
A dead kingdom until the Lorebook Hunters established the Free City of Sheljar. Prior to the Born Generation Sheljar was a mighty empire the controlled all of the West and the lands of the Everflow. A trade empire with major cities on its eastern coasts, Sheljar’s exports included the holy waters of the Font of Two Paths, gems and glassware from Bell’an’faire, alcohols from The Ferments, and stones from the various mountains. It is now fractured, with independent city-states throughout its former lands.
As magic started to seep back into the Six Kingdoms Sheljar was dominated by a Necromancer. The marsh-city came home to thousands of undead and a family of monsters known as Tunneling Nightmares who spewed vomit of bones and created sunken tunnels throughout the underbelly of the city.
The Free City is mostly confined to a few isles in the marsh-city. Its main tenant is that all thinking peoples are equal and worthy. They have eliminated most of the undead and all (?) of the Nightmares. They killed the Necromancer.
Telse, Mira, Qin and the other cities near the Everflow and its two rivers.
Telse
The towns of Upper and Lower Telse are dominated by the Orthodox Church of Quar. The main feature is the fountain, pool, and the two rivers that flow forth to both Qin and Mira. Many other faiths also treat the towns for pilgrimage. From the Born Generation to the present day those pilgrims have overwhelmed the town. The Mayor and Bishop rule together, frustratingly looking at the Free City of Sheljar as a threat.
Qin and Mira
The two trade cities didn’t fall to the Necromancer and took in many refugees. Both are ruled by trade societies. In Qin these guilds are centered around the trade routes. In Mira they are centered around the craft or goods created.
Other Lands
Few of the other lands outside of the Six Kingdoms are well known. Two have recently become quite important.
Queen’s Land
From Shejar to the northwest stands a series of island spires and a storm. According to the gobkon beyond that is their own homeland. The matrilineal kingdom is full of smog and caste, with the creation of new technologies being the currency of power.
Fey Isles
This series of islands well beyond the Sea of Gallinor is where the dragons and their friends originate. A land of bewildering magic there are colleges and schools to advance the art of the arcane. Only the Oriq, outcasts, are believed to not be able to channel the mystical into reality.
Races
Kin, the People of Love and Companionship
Nearly all of the kin have bonded companions. While dogs and birds are the most common of these, there are also some lizards, horses, and quite rarely fish. Mechanically this is in essence a Feat.
Goliaths
The giants of the Land of the Everflow, goliaths are most often found on the edges of cities, or out in the wilderness, though they are the most common peoples in the Crinth Confederation. On the Western Wildes, on the Cliffs of Galinor, is a singular tribe of goliaths. They most commonly bond with birds, often using the small creatures to make up for their larger fingers. Not just gentle giants, goliaths are generally warmer to strangers and live in large multifamily groups. Their homes will have open windows across many levels.
Hin, or Halflings
The largers will call them halflings, but the hin are half of nothing. Fond of canines some hin ride their bonds, others have small little herds. Hin are loyal to a fault. They enjoy flavors – cooking, tea, coffee, beer, wine, anything that can entertain their mouth and nose. They are most common in Azsel and the Western Wildes where Sheljar once ruled.
Human
Most common of all peoples, humans run the gamut of sizes, shapes, and bondings. There are humans bonded with horses, canines, avians, and so much more. They are a menagerie. It is common for the offspring of Hin and Goliath, or Hin and Human, or Goliath and Human to all be called human as their characteristics of humans are all across the spectrum of what makes life amazing. They are most common in everywhere but Azsel (Hin) and Crinth (Goliath).
Ken, the People of Knowledge and Magic
These fey peoples have mystical powers, all able to cast magic spells of varying kinds. Mechanically this means that ever Ken starts with a feat that grants magic of some type.
Dragons
They hoard things and/or emotions. While most peoples in the Land of the Everflow think that always means treasure the ale drakes hoard alcohol; black dragons hoard companionship; faerie dragons hoard joy and mirth; red dragons gather rage. All have powerful magic, which leads some of the peoples to swear fealty to the dragons. Most in the Six Kingdoms still think dragons are a story of trouble over the hill, rather trouble right here in the city.
Dwarves
Often the student-warriors and defenders of the colleges, the stout folk are generally evokers and abjurers. Channeling magic into hard violence and shielding others from it. Tending towards dour and serious, when they do unwind they unwind as hard a magic missile. Many keep the various drakes (non-thinking dragon-kin) as pets, but this is not the bond of the Six Kingdoms.
Elves
Changing the real world through their summoning powers and abilities to reshape reality, elves of the Fey Isles are aloof and superior. Looking down on the other humanoids for their “lesser” powers the elves like to present themselves as the equals to dragons (they are not).
Gnomes
The smallest of the fey, gnomes master the arts of emotion. Changing the way peoples feel or what they experience, gnomes are artists. They want to experience all emotions, at once, if they can. At times some from the Six Kingdoms have seen gnomes with smaller dragons and thought they are bonded. They are not. They’re just great friends with faerie, ale, and others of the weaker types. Gnomes are so fascinated by the Bonding that they have learned to speak with the animals.
No Rock Gnomes are part of the Ken. There are rumors among the Ken that Gobkons were once gnomes. This is heretical.
Kon, the People of Teknology and Konstruct
From the Land of Queen and Konstruct, these goblins are more misunderstood by the people of the Everflow than any other. Covered in soot and grime they are teknical marvels capable of building airxips powered by tar trees, clacketing cycles to move themselves, signal towers and so much more bizarre inventions. Coming in three sizes (Goblin, Hobgoblin, Mulgob) some sages from the Six Kingdoms have theorized that they are related to halflings, humans, and goliaths.
Mechanically this means that every character starts with Artificer Initiate and Rock Gnome Tinker.
People of Chorl
The creations of a rogue Scholar, these peoples are centaurs, aarakocra, minotaurs, fauns, and other blends of beast and human. They are outsiders, shunned due to their being the result Chorl’s use of transmutation magics. They are most common in the unsettled lands of the Western Wildes. The Chorl-ites only gather by animal type.
The Moons
Circled by four moons, Aur is roughly the size of Earth. The moons are part a major part of the calendar, and each is centered within different regions.
Feyelf (7 days) – dominant in the Queens Land
Glibbon or Glight (31 days) – dominant in Mehmd, Azsel
Kin (78 days) – dominant in Sheljar, Kirtin, Daoud
Dragon (6220 days) – dominant in Crinth, Fey Isles
The Days
These are the days in the Religion of Quar, the former lands of Sheljar, and Daoud.
Elmsday starts the week and honors Selley (Goddess of Birth, Life and Death) and Belsem (Goddess of the Untamed).
Bell’an’Aur is the second day of the week. It starts with a rejection of that which can’t be tamed and ends with a dinner celebrating Aur. In Kirtin and Crinth this is Feylfday, the day when Feylf is full, shortly after sunset.
Quarsday is the third day. It celebrates Quar (God of Rivers, Mountains)
Day of Glight honors the Lord of Knowledge. In developed lands the afternoons are given to learning.
Torday honors Torq (Goddess of Sea and Storm).
Az and Sel is day six. This honors not a god within the Wildes/Kirtin/Daoud, but the man and dog that legend says discovered the bonding. Nik is also frequently honored on this day. Azsel recognizes Az and Sel as man and dog that were raised to the gods.
Day of Oun is the end of the week. Oun and Obscon are not honored or celebrated, instead the Lords of the End are respected in that all things end. They are often feared.
Religions
Neither the Ken nor the Kon are religious. Within the Land of the Everflow there are four major pantheons each with distinct God-groups. The most influential of these is the Orthodox Church of Quar which centers Quar, the Lord of Life and Rivers. Other gods within the group are Belsem (Goddess Nature, the Wild, the Untames), Torq (Scion of the Seas, Storms), Oun and Obscon (Twins of Ending, Death, Souls, Trickery, Darkness), Selley (Goddess of Life and Bondings) and Glight (Knowledge, Study). There is also a Free Church of Quar, an offshoot that objects to the mercantile power of the Bishop. Both churches are most influential in old Sheljar, Kirtin, and Daoud.
Up in Crinth the most influential pantheon is The Siblings. The god-group are two parents with sextuplets. The Parents are Glight (Light, Knowledge) and Selley (Birth, Moons, Passion). Both have minor roles in the Orthodox Church. The Siblings represent the Hearth, Trickery, Crafts, Beasts, Spirit, and Unity.
Over in Mehmd the God of Unity from The Siblings is worshipped as the sole god, with all others gods being an aspect of Unity.
In Azsel both Az and Sel, the First Bondings, are worshipped as Gods. Though they were a real pairing of hin and mastiff as the source of bonding the two represent the power of companionship, life, war, nature and people all together.
The Everflow
The Font of Two Paths, or the Everflow, is the magical water that emerges from the cliffside above Telse. When captured from the falls or not significantly intermixed the Everflow has healing powers. The Orthodox Church of Quar controls access to the Everflow in nearly every community. The Church uses its control of the Everflow to have a presence in all cities and most towns throughout the Six Kingdoms.
Lorebooks
Every school of magic as well as the hybrid colleges and certain traditions that aren’t usually connected to arcane magic (Druidic, Bards, Tricksters, etc) has a Lorebook hidden somewhere within the Six Kingdoms. The Scholar and their two Students are the only people who know where these books are.
The world knows that the government of the Free City of Sheljar has both the Lorebook of Divination (Scholar Cortez) and Folio of Necromancy (Scholar Rohan, The Necromancer). The other of the two dozen books, once assumed to just be a singular book, are all considered to be part of the reason for the Born Generation and the return to magic (when Cortez caused the eruption at the Glass Tower) to come to the Land of the Everflow.
There are certain DMs (me) who aren’t good at drawing and or mapping. For us, a few dollars a month towards various map makers helps us create our worlds. Even if you don’t commission specific works, the services of Dyson Logos (my favorite dungeons), Two Minute Tabletop (my favorite battlemaps), Deven Rue (my favorite regional maps), and Watabou (my favorite procedural maps) can add depth to your gaming sessions — even when you don’t use miniatures.
This is vital for me. Uprising & Rebellion takes place in large city. Having maps of districts and neighborhoods within that is important for the game. Being able to create one on the fly as my players head off script is vital. Players will always go off script. Just because you think they’re going to have a battle in the Docks doesn’t mean they won’t visit North Shore, the Ward of Mighty Trees, the University or Silk Row.
Will I have two or three of these printed out just for the flavor of the next neighborhood over? Yes.
Here are three other ways you can use the Neighborhood maps.
Stitch together an assembly of several of them to create a city. The unnatural gaps make perfect sense as mountains, lakes, rivers, etc. A whole city at this level of detail would be interesting. Make certain to use the same color set for each.
Some of the generations for the neighborhood map make sense as compact villages. Yes, Dolya has a village creator, but those don’t have wells, fountains, and ponds in them. The neighborhoods can.
The map can be an underground cavern in the Dwarven city trope. First shift the colors using the ‘0’ key to one that has some darkness to it. Pretend that the trees are mushrooms, and that the streets are the passageways and tunnels to the rest of the world. Bone Wharf is now a Mountain Dwarf city.
The key to using a procedural map is that you aren’t going to get exactly what you want, or even close to what you want. You are going to get a usable map, fast. Let the oddities of the creation guide you towards creating the people and the space. That long road running from lower-left to upper-right on Silk Row? That’s obviously the Silk Row itself. The fountain is where the various traders and merchants gather to discus their deals. The light smattering of trees are for the very richest of households, those that raise silkworms in the climate that isn’t proper for them. There are some roads that run parallel to the Silk Row, those are for supporting businesses, not the wealthy traders. The non-enclosed squares like the large one up-and-right are areas that are pack animal friendly. You are the DM (or when you use as a player to describe a hometown the creator). Let the algorithm take you to answers you could never find on your own.
What else do you see in Silk Row? Why is the dwarven city called Bone Wharf? What makes Bone Wharf unique?
This campaign is set six years after the Lorebook Hunters returned magic to the World of the Everflow. It is set in Kirtin-on-the-Lake, and is centered on political intrigue with social and exploration pillars being as important as combat. Every player is united in rebellion against the corrupt Mayor, but may have differing ideas about how the various factions can help Kirtin-on-the-Lake be free.
You are common people living in and around Kirtin-on-the-Lake who are inspired to free the city from under the rule of Daoud. You may want it to once again be part of Kirtin, or you may want to copy the Free City of Sheljar. The City Guard, a unit of Daoud’s military, and even Dragons, who see Kirtin-on-the-Lake as their ancestral home, stand in your way.
Background
Kirtin-on-the-Lake was once the winter capital of Kirtin. Taken over by Daoud in the generational wars it is a city of borders even before the Awakening and the discoveries of the Lorebook of Divination and the Folio of Necromancy. Now, the Ken and their Dragons are trying to capture what they claim are their ancestral homeland. Daoud and Kirtin remain at war over the city.
There is also a general uprising of peoples inspired by the Free City of Sheljar. The Mayor has managed to consolidate power by playing the various factions off against each other; this hasn’t helped the common people beyond allowing them peace.
The Proctors of Grace and their other allies want to control access to magic. Certain Dragons also want to repopulate Kirtin-on-the-Lake as the Ward of Mighty Trees is the ancestral home of certain types of Dragons (at least a Red as that first DragonTree has regrown).
Daoud will not allow their winnings (Kirtin-on-the-Lake and the Slope) to leave their control after centuries. The rebellion has taken control of the Dock District. What will they free next? While the mayor may be willing to have the rebels help repel the Proctors, he serves at the whim of an empire that refuses to recognize Kirtin-on-the-Lake as anything but its own territory.
Factions
Mayor and City Guard, generally aligned with Daoud, he is willing to look the other way and cede districts to other invaders for a price.
Daoud, the conquering empire of the south. Normally a naval power in the World of the Everflow, their long conflict over Kirtin-on-the-Lake is their largest land holding.
Kirtin, the mountain kingdom has been at war with Daoud and Azsel for so long that all of its peoples serve in the military.
Proctors of Grace and the Ken, lead by Dragons the various fey peoples are experts at magic and claim that Kirtin-on-the-Lake’s Ward of Mighty trees is their homeland. They also want to put the power of magic under their control and only their control.
Society of Veil and Shadows, these rebels are inspired by the Free City of Sheljar and its empowerment of all thinking peoples. Whether Kin, Ken, or Kon the people deserve equality of treatment and opportunity.
Rumors
There are half-animal/half-people roaming the Western Wildes.
Out in the Ferments forms of life based on the elements are driving out the Kin there.
Headquartered Church of Quar has lost control of the Everflow (the source of all healing potions).
Peace has come between the Kingdoms of the North as the Crinth Confederation and Azsel are more concerned with the Kon and the Ken.
The Dragons seek the Robe of the Magi.
The Tome of Abjuration and its Proctor may be in the city or surrounding area.
Facets
Exploring the zero-to-hero tropes, rebellion, and who gets to control knowledge.
Sandbox play.
Player agency creates history.
Drop in/drop out, whatever.
Sessions are 2-3 hours. Adventures are 1-3 sessions.
Use point buy or standard array for starting attributes. If you want something random, the redrick roller gives random point buy valid stats.
Start at 3rd level, because power is cool.
Long rests require 24 hours within sanctuary. This creates a pace of play more similar to novels than video games.
Practicum
Sessions will be on Sunday afternoons and evenings, floating times based on the Puget Sound pro soccer schedule. Characters must be created prior to dropping in. The table will be on an outdoor patio at one of a few locations in South King County.
Queen’s Fleet continues to expand presence in Kirtin-on-the-Lake; various factions may lead to infighting; what are these stunning and dirty technologies?
Kirtin-on-the-Lake | Neremyn Quizana
Lately you’ve seen, heard, or smelled the newest additions to Kirtin-on-the-Lake. During this stalemate between Daoud and the Dragons and Kirtin traders from the Free City of Sheljar have entered the city. Some land on the lake with ships under great balloons filled with oily gasses; others enter with the rackety-clackety of wooden gears on various cycles of one, two, and even four wheels — like a cart without a horse.
These goblins (we shall use this word for all of them whether merely the size of halflings or the masses of muscle as large as goliaths) are organized differently than any of the Five Kingdoms of the Everflow. Most similar to the guild-houses of Qin, the Kon organize into at least six guilds that are based in familial relationship and what they call ‘teknical’ skills.
Through numerous conversations we have learned that these are their guilds active in the Western Wildes. Not all have been seen in Kirtin-on-the-Lake yet. According to our sources all are present in Sheljar and the towns under the Free City’s sway — Fort Ooshar, Mira, Telse, Bell-an-Fair, Hagtown, and possibly The Ferments.
A new peoples to the Western Wildes, these snapshots should help the fair people of Kirtin-on-the-Lake understand the goblins and their bizarre systems that ignore the shared bonds of people with animal or the potent magicks of the Dragons and their allies.
Most noticed on the streets of Kirtin-on-the-Lake due to their loud clanking cycles, the Clockwerks League is currently the most powerful of the various goblins. The Queen herself is a member, having won many flags prior to ascending to the throne.
Besides the cycles, the Clockwerks include clocks, timers, repeating crossbows, giant powerwheels similar to a waterwheel that uses their mulgobs rather than water. There is word that they will open a new grain mill took.
Ratxets Guild
Conflicting reports say that the Ratxets Guild are a spinoff from the League or something entirely new. They make wonderful climbing devices and on many days you can find a demonstration down by Theater. The ability to use their rope and ratxet to climb the side of Rock is amazing. When this author used the device it made the journey up Rock pleasant rather than the long chore that the stairway can be.
Rumor is that the Ratxet may install a gondola from the Rock that connects several districts by massive sky-ropes.
Coils of strong metal come off of smiths that burn hotter than ours. Without the tartek maybe the Springwerks Union couldn’t exist. This symbiotic relationship betwixt the guilds is routine. They compete harshly for recognition from the Queen and yet their greatest werks are interconnected and use tekniques of others.
Their crossbows are a bit lighter. A siege engine powered by a Springwerk may be able to fell a Dragon. The energy trapped within the springs is grand. It may take days for the muls and hobs to get the springs set, but once they are the power can slowly release or go all at once.
A good little friendly goblin introduced me to how the Alliance works. Our waterwheels are what they used a life of lifes ago. Now using either water or something called pneumatics the Alliance is two former competitors joined. Anything that flows can be trapped, contained, and utilized.
If you’ve been to Haystreet after DragonTree you’ll have seen the inn there with running water! There is an attached bath with a dryer!
Why do so many goblins stink of their tartek when the Alliance allows such great cleanliness? I know after a day at print (our newsletter has bids out to the League and Guild for help reducing prices for you our fair reader) I will use that bath of warm water.
At Carnival you’ve seen the Sparklers. They contain joy in their little packets. The Sisterhood is a group that takes that type of energy and applies it to more than just entertainment. The Alchems are busy foraging the rocks, vegetation, and even animal waste of our lands to find new ways to create violence. Their inventions are on par with many of the magicks of Dragons, in a way that can be taught and handed over.
This Sisterhood will not share their methods of creation. They make the Sparklers look like a newspaper since the Alchms refuse to be public in how they operate.
Also, they hate the Tarteks Federation. Supposedly these groups could be the unified, there’s some sort of familial break that has nothing to do with the teknology used.
You know the smell by know. Using their tar-trees the goblins have changed the air and water in Kirtin-on-the-Lake, maybe forever. They burn this sticky oil and create self-powered cycles, no pedaling needed. Like the Sisterhood, The Federation are reclusive.
This lack of information seems to be how the gobs keep their strength and respect. A combination of Tartek and Airxip work is what enabled the gobkon to cross the Teeth of Sheljar and, as they claim, return to their lands.
Those massive ships travel the air, floating above the rapids of rivers, the mountain passes, the brigands and bandits. Their ‘airxips’ are barely related to Daoud’s large galleons. Some of the airxips cannot even land in the waters of Kin! They must have towers or long rope ladders to interact with the grounds below.
Bladders may be filled with the works of Alchems, Tarteks, or even Airmatics. Each insists their techniques are best. This author does not know which is best. The xips and gliders of the Syndicate enable travel and connection to communities in ways that our horses cannot. Sheljar’s connection to Hagtown shouldn’t be possible. It is just uphill from us, but due to regular visits from the Syndicate it maintains a relationship to the Free City rather than Kirtin or Daoud as it was in the past.
These transports are stunning, if slow. I have booked a ride to go to Kirtin-in-the-Sky for the summer as my first test of what the Syndicate can do. Hopefully the stalemate between rebel, Daoud, Kirtin, and the Dragons will hold until after my report.
Additional reporting was provided by allies and sources within Hagtown, Sheljar, and Telse. Those sources will not be revealed.
