Dolin's Tower

From AdamWiki

Perched on a ridge on the old border of two countries, Dolin's Tower serves as a beacon of hope for local residents and refugees. The surrounding territory is dangerous and the Tower serves to rally the forces of law and good to push back the chaos and evil that threatens the local residents.

The recent war between Aureulin and Kengora over iron mines in the area savaged the people who lived along their shared edge. Old garrison towns, watchtowers, forts, and villages were razed. Sensing weakness, a much more sinister enemy -- the half-giant-ant, half-dwarven Durgen -- attacked both kingdoms. Aureulin and Kengora shrunk back to regroup.

Left with crumbling walls and no support from their motherlands, the "Tween" -- as its residents came to call it -- transformed from a somewhat civilized hinterland to a chaotic frontier. Bandits, humanoids, and monsters surfaced and made their homes here. Greater evils saw opportunities here: weaker, dumber races to be organized and used for nefarious purposes. In the last three years, the area has become the worst kind of wilderness, overgrown with evil of every sort.

But where evil lurks, champions arise to fight it! The Tween is a breeding ground for heroes of every sort.

Most bastions of defense flock to Dolin's Tower, a shoddy little keep with a great view of the landscape (and, thus, approaching enemies). Dolin's Tower survived the war and its light beckons villagers from all over to huddle within its stockade wall when danger rips them from their homes. The magical fire atop the tower blazes defiantly against the forces that oppose it.

Creating Characters

To create a character for the Dolin's Tower campaign, follow these rules:

1. Consider your character concept (see Character Opportunities, below). Figure out how your character connects to factions in the setting and to other characters. Talk to the rest of the players about this!
2. Choose one the sets of stats below. They're not all equal in terms of net pluses, but that's not the point. Remember that you'll get an additional +1 at 4th level. Apply racial adjustments to these scores.
   • 8(-1) 10(+0) 12(+1) 14(+2) 15(+2) 18(+4)
   • 8(-1) 12(+1) 13(+1) +14(+2) 15(+2) 17(+3)
   • 10(+0) 11(+0) 12(+1) 13(+1) 14(+2) 16(+3)
3. Create a character with 3 levels per the normal rules. Abide by restrictions on race and class and alignment (see below).
4. Starting hit points equals maximum at 1st and 2nd level, but minimum at 3rd level. So a fighter (d10 per level) with Constitution 13(+1) gets 11+11+2 = 24 hit points.

Character Opportunities

Player characters are likely to come from one of these groups.

Outraged Locals

The peasants and workers of the area have lost their homes and, often, much of their family. In some cases, loved ones have fled back to the motherland in search of safer city walls and the marches of armies, while a few have stayed behind to fight the good fight, get revenge, and reclaim their lands.

Ideas:

• A peasant hero who has become a sort of small-town legend for bravery against encroaching forces.
• A smith or other craftsman who has put down tools and picked up a sword (consider a level of Expert and some Craft skills).
• A noble who has lost everything. Without lands, she's just a refugee with a useless title and fancy table manners.
• A child who was separated from her family. Shell-shocked, the child manifested weird magical powers for defense (Sorcerer?).

Well-Meaning Protectors

Some people can't stand injustice. They rally when the horns sound the militia. They throw themselves between the vile and the innocent. They defend walls and seek out wrong-doers.

Ideas:

• A veteran soldier who has gone AWOL -- protecting the innocent on the borders rather than defending the rich in the kingdom.
• A priest who has come to the war-torn lands to help the needy.
• A ranger or druid who hates the destruction of the lands here and who has come to put it right.
• A paladin who felt called towards the light of the tower. There is much Good to be done here.

Opportunists

Where chaos rules and civilization struggles, certain people take advantage of the situation. Not all of them are horrible people. Some help out where they can, but try to profit a bit on the side. They don't always have the best intentions, but they end up doing the right thing anyway.

Ideas:

• A rogue who came here to loot but ended up helping people.
• A mercenary who works for the Tower. It's okay to get paid to fight evil.
• A wizard who realizes that the war has left certain old ruins unprotected.
• Any character who is just here to kill monsters and take their stuff.

Races

Most of the locals are human but elves and half-elves are not uncommon. Halflings are rarer. Dwarves are a form of Durgen (anttaur) that are greatly disliked in this setting, but you can play one if you want. With permission, you can play an aasimar, but it costs you one of your initial levels (level adjustment +1).

Prohibited races: All races not mentioned above are prohibited. Half-orcs and Durgen (anttaurs) are forbidden because they'd be slaughtered by the local small-minded populace. Gnomes are forbidden because I hate them.

Cultures

Aureulin is the northern country ruled by an elven king and a human queen. They build great stepped pyramids of stone out of the rain forests to honor their gods: Sulaine (sun), Oriin (moon), Gaiafiin (earth), Zulura (void, night sky, stars). They also worship minor gods representing the planets (Maelceis, Ivenair, Ulmorain, Zafther, Tutuurain), but rarely build more than small shrines to them. Sulaine is the most powerful god these days but it wasn't always so. Thousands of years ago, the elven nation of Aure conquered many of the tribal human neighbors and a couple small human kingdoms. These were integrated into Aureuline culture in the most friendly manner possible.

Kengora is the southern country of humans ruled in oligarchical fashion by The Serpentine Council, with a puppet Supreme Empress (a hereditary title). The Council is comprised of men and women powerful enough to hold their seats amidst assassination attempts, buy-outs, and other Byzantine political maneuvers. The people are divided into numerous castes with limited mobility -- generally only a step at a time, via marriage or promotion by the Empress, once per lifetime. Halflings are common back in Kengora, and they are relegated to the lowest castes and perform menial tasks and hard labor all their lives. Kengoran citizens (especially halflings) have a great opportunity in the Tween to live outside the caste into which they were born, though it may be difficult for them to adjust to a new lifestyle after decades of indoctrination).

Kengoran gods come in dualistic pairs, called Twins. Their names are usually simple words like Fire and Rain (these are English translations of the Kengoran words, of course). Large temples consist of long halls with opposing Twins across from one another. Smaller shrines might worship one pair of Twins. Here are the four main pairs of Twins. There are many more minor pairs.

Rain	Fire
Stone	Cloud
Light	Void
Life	Death

Classes

All core classes are available for play, except those with psionic powers. See the class descriptions below to integrate your character with the setting. In general, you can play any combination of race and class, but some combinations fit into the setting better.

Barbarians roamed the forests and plains before the war. Many were enslaved by the Durgen. Any who survived are likely to have something to rage about. Most barbarians are human though they've been known to mate with elves, so a half-elf barbarian isn't impossible.

Bards are needed to record the history that occurred and will occur here, to inspire and lead, and to cheer people up.

Clerics of all kinds have flocked here to tend the needy, heal the injured, lay the dead (and undead!) to rest, and seal off rifts that allow demons into this world. Religion is widely varied here in the mixing pot of the Tween, but there are a few major players. Sulaine the sun god is very popular here due to a strong influence in the Tower before the war combined with elven influence within the army folk who settled here. Worship of the Gaian pantheon (mostly animal and forest gods) is prevalent among folks who have been in the area for a while. Dualistic Kengoran influences are weaker but noticeable, with shrines to the multiple sets of Twins seen all over the area.

Druids, like clerics, have much to do here though they may be more concerned with plants and animals than people. That's not always the case, though. Druids who belong to the various religious orders, however, tend to be more social and people-focused. There is much work here in getting farms back in order and rebuilding villages without cutting down every tree in the area. There are two main druidic orders: Verdant Ring (political meddlers and natural protectors) and the White Crescent (mystic nature watchers with an astronomical bent).

Fighters are everywhere, in the form of militia (Dolin's Watch), thugs (Black Fist, the Topplers), soldiers (Aureuline Regular Army, King's Guard, Kengoran 6th Battalion), bandits (Tween Highwaymen, Rock Marauders), mercenaries (Gorak's Private Army, Santaly Irregulars), and hunters (Dolin Huntsman Lodge). Because of the recent war, almost everyone has had a chance to serve in the army at some point. The organizations listed are examples. You don't have to be affiliated with one of them.

Monks are pretty rare. Those in the area are either here on a mission or rather socially-awkward. The war-torn frontier is not the place for a monk to settle down and find peace and perfection in mediation and contemplation. Because of their penchant for order, many monks find themselves here to put things back in place. The Brothers of Sulaine support and protect the sun god's temple. Seekers of Gaia work with druids and rangers to understand the mysteries of the forest. Representatives of other mystic orders are here, but not with any real organization.

Paladins are surprisingly common here. There are people to lead, refugees to feed and clothe, civilians to protect, and monsters and demons to kill. The most powerful group of paladins is the Shining Sons of Sulaine. While women are accepted into the holy order, they usually are not treated equal to men. A smaller group of women paladins have risen up, calling themselves Mothers of Sacrifice, with the mission of protecting the needy in the Tween. Non-affiliated paladins are rare and at a disadvantage.

Rangers are right at home on the borderlands. The combination of wilderness and frontier is the perfect breeding ground for rangers of every type. Dolin's Tower maintains Dolin's Sentries (sometimes called the Strays), a group of ranger-scouts who keep abreast of activity in the area.

Rogues always have a place and many make their homes near Dolin's Tower. Certainly there are many organized groups and solo individuals who loot homes, rob travelers, and raid villages but many rogues just want to live the wild life and have fun, even when the world has seemingly crumbled around them. Indeed, the sense of danger and adventure that pervades the borderlands is a magnet for those of roguish persuasion and "hearts of gold." A Robin-Hood-esque group, the Hillbottom Redistribution Franchise, literally steals from the rich to give to the poor. They are a Good-aligned group who avoid killing their victims.

Sorcerers are extremely rare -- rarer than wizards. No one really understands how sorcery works or where it comes from, and even wizards tend to treat it with suspicion. It could be demonic! Sorcery leaves its mark on its users: if you play a sorcerer, your character needs to be psychologically damaged in some way. Is the sorcery the cause or effect of the damage? No one knows.

Wizards are very rare in the world but more common here around Dolin's Tower. The ley lines and spirit power here are intriguing and many wizards seek answers. Wizards gain their spell power through the control of invisible spirits who the spellcaster binds to them. Each "spell" is, in essence, a spirit who can perform a certain ability. Wizards do not need spellbooks. Scrolls are just summoning rituals that force a spirit to appear and perform a certain task before they are released. There is no wizardry school in this setting. People learn their knowledge "the hard way," through trial and error or perhaps apprenticeship. If you play a wizard, you can choose to have a master or not. If you have a master who lives near Dolin's Tower, he or she will demand things of you (quests) but will provide potions, helpful magic, and advice whenever you need it. If you have a master who lives far away, he or she will demand far less of you but cannot often provide magical aid or advice (except by letter). If you are masterless, you do not automatically learn new spells when you advance a level, but no one will demand things of you. If you have a master, determine whether you are an apprentice, a traveling journeyman, or an established wizard in your own right. An apprentice's master is level 5. A journeyman's master is level 7. An established wizard's master is level 10. When you surpass your master's level, you'll get a cool bonus of some kind.

Alignment

You can choose any alignment you choose, but if you choose an evil alignment, expect trouble. The vast majority of the powerful NPCs in town are good-aligned.

Remember that alignment describes your character's long-term goals, not necessarily his short-term actions. If you choose a trouble-making character -- be it a bad-as-they-come chaotic neutral rogue or a in-everyone's-face lawful good paladin -- and you play that character in a way that isn't fun for the rest of the group, you're just being a jerk.

If you want to play an evil character, have a good reason for getting along with the party. Figure out how to work with them without constant arguments. Being evil doesn't mean you kill all the prisoners. You might suggest it, but when the cleric gets all miffed about the idea, you back way off and never mention it again. Evil isn't dumb.

Oh, yeah: the detect alignment-type spells in this setting only detect intent, not true alignment. That is, you have to be thinking about evil things to register as "evil" for a detection spell.