Before the Beginning

The One

Before there was nothing, there was The One, and it was nasty.

Star Child and Rumpov Steelskin swung down with The One. They brought with them the Funk and the Staid.

Funk pushes change and growth on all that inhabit The One.

The Staid holds change back and prevents the roof of The One from being torn off.

Dahc-Torf Unkenstein and Searnooz Deevoid soon followed. Both were of the Funk and favored by Star Child -- until Searnooz saw wisdom in the ways of Rumpov.

A revolution and a war of gods followed.

The battle gave rise to the other two forces that hold The One together. A force for those who sought a Tight order and a force for those who embraced a Loose coexistence.

This is how The One began, and everything is on The One.

The World as Our Adventure Begins

The State Ozquo

In the mountains to the south, a large empire has taken shape, The Imperial Lands of The State Ozquo. The capital of Ozquo is Morgauge, a port city controlled by a powerful religious group worshiping the Tight and Staid god Daprez.

The State Ozquo’s empire, run as a fundamentalist military regime devoted to order enforced through violence, has enveloped six kingdoms over the course of three generations. Despite the prevalence of magic in the world, Ozquo has put strict regulations in place on the use of magic and magic items.

The Drowning of Nyara

Ozquo’s military is responsible for the horrifying Drowning of Nyara.

Nyara was the kingdom that was once home to all of the heroes in this campaign.

Before the Drowning, Nyara was an ancient and powerful kingdom that was the seat of resistance to the empire’s growth. The Drowning of Nyara occurred after a long siege. A high ranking wizard from Ozquo broke an ancient enchantment, destroying a dam crafted with forgotten magic and burying the valley kingdom under fifty feet of water. Hundreds of thousands died and the most ancient and respected kingdom in the known world was lost.

The heroes in this campaign all escaped Nyara with their lives and little else.

Ames – The City of Theives

North of the Empire, the climate turns tropical. Swamps have slowed Ozquo’s expansion somewhat, but the effort was truly stalled by the empire’s attempts to bring the city of Ames into the fold.

Ames is the headquarters of the five Thieves Guilds. The city was cobbled together over the centuries because no other kingdom cared for the land where it sits. The city has no military and no central government. Guild leaders have made no effort to reject the Ozquo garrisons built outside of the city. For years, the soldiers posted there have attempted to collect taxes and enforce The State Ozquo’s laws. These efforts have been stymied, however, by near-nightly raids on the garrisons and stealthy ambushes on Ozquo patrols. Guild leaders have told a number of emissaries that this could be avoided if Ozquo officials would agree to pay one of the guilds the appropriate protection fees. The officials have responded by calling for more support and better weapons – many of which are stolen in route.

The six city states to the north, while reluctant to ally themselves with the City of Theives, have each expressed their gratitude for the way Ames has gone about slowing the expansion of the empire. This gratitude comes in a number of forms, but never in the form of military aid.

The Guilds and an Invitation 

The five Thieves Guilds each specialize in a different type of work.

• The Silver Fern is the newest. They steal from military outposts and convoys.
• The Red Lilly is the oldest. They work confidence schemes.
• The White Ivy is the wealthiest. They collect well-protected enchanted items and arcane secrets.
• The Yellow Rose is the most feared. They work robbery and muggings.
• The Blue Orchid is the largest. They work sleight of hand and pick pocket rings.

The adventure begins when the players respond to a summons from Baam Pit, the head of the Silver Fern guild. Each hero received a sealed personal invitation to be a guest of honor at a remembrance on the ten-year anniversary of The Drowning of Nyara. The Silver Fern is a young but influential guild, and the invitation from Pit is an unexpected honor.