I'm posting this here so you can steal stuff from it, make comments, point out errors in Realmslore that I've used, and generally help me make my game a better one--and perhaps contribute your own piece to it.
So please, comment!*******************************
Forgotten Realms: Beholderslayer
Based on original work by Michael Satran (msatran)
by Scott Roberts (gamersgambit) with John Kretzer (johnkretzer)
i. Introduction
My entire 20-year experience of the Realms is colored through the lens of having run it in Michael Satran's version thereof, a version with several departures from canon Realms. Thus, as an homage and simply because I quite literally can not imagine the Realms without them, my version of the campaign uses characters and events from those Realms in its history, some in familiar roles and some in surprisingly different roles.
This is intended as an homage and an acknowledgement of the debt that I have to Michael for making my Realms experience so enjoyable over the years. I could not do Michael's game justice as its long-term DM, but I feel confident enough in my understanding of it to provide at least one alternate vision of what its future would be like...it may be slightly wish-fulfilling, and certainly in places not how Michael would have done it, but I am taking it and making it my own while retaining some of the best elements I remember.
This is an alternate history tale: one where something in the past occurs which would have altered the course of history; an exercise in fantasy, of "what-might-have-been". These tales are things which I am intimately familiar with. They have conventions--the most notable of which is that a small pebble in a pond causes the ripples which change the future. This is called the point of divergence--the single, small event that changes the course of history as we know it. They are rejections of the Great Man theory of history, where only the actions of single, important men change the course thereof; they are explorations of probability. Unlike most alternate history tales, however, mine begins in the future of the Realms as we know them from Mike's game. The reason for this will become clear once you read below.
One more thing before we begin, another element of homage. My favorite alternate history author is Dr. Harry Turtledove, and my favorite series is the one fans have called "Timeline-191", where the South wins the Civil War. The point of divergence for this tale revolves around Special Order 191. In our reality, before the Battle of Antietam in 1862, Union soldiers accidentally recovered a copy of Special Order 191, (used as a wrapping around a number of cigars), which spelled out in detail Lee's plan for the invasion of Maryland. Using this intelligence, Federal forces, under George B. McClellan, moved north and forced the battle at Antietam, ending the invasion. In Turtledove's alternate history, the order was never recovered--an unnamed-in-our-history soldier notices and prevents the unknown-in-our-history Confederate courier from losing his cigar-wrapped packet. In the alternate Realms, however, the point of divergence works slightly differently...with a song. The campaign is named after that song (see the entry under "Rizzen", in the Personalities section.)
Hammer 4, 1383 - Old Shanatar, underneath Calimport
It would be insane to entrust such an important missive to any other than the most devout followers. Thus, it fell to Fernathik, Derro messenger and Chief Lanternmaker of the Knucklehamster Derro, to carry the scroll to Ranthar Delhimber in Calimport. Watchful Skull Tynnos Argrim, High Priest of the Dark Redoubt temple of Cyric, had made sure to impress upon Ranthar the importance of his mission. This was a diatribe the Derro cared little to remember, punctuated as it was by repeated slaps to his head every time Feranthik's mind was distracted by the irritating refrain of that accursed song which had lodged in his mind and couldn't be shaken no matter what else he listened to. If only the stupid bard had *FINISHED* the song before he died from being boiled to death, and besides, what sort of crazy being can concentrate on SINGING while he's being tortured by derro?
As Fernathik approached Calimport from below, he was trying to think of ANYTHING but that damned song. Over and over it went in his head, distracting him from his path and stopping his contemplation of other, more pleasurable things, like chartruse daggers and his favorite dish, black pudding pudding with chitine crunchies in it. Sure, it burned his mouth--he'd lost a few teeth to it more than once, and he was pretty sure the residual acid was the cause of that growing hole in the roof of his mouth--but watching it divide always brought a smile to his face...and then there he was, just as he was imagining the rich taste in his mouth, distracted again by the jaunty melody. He was certain if he could find someone to just teach him the NEXT VERSE he would at least get the chorus out of his head, and maybe the whole song entirely. That next bit was on the tip of his tongue...well, not that it had a tip thanks to all that black pudding pudding, but he knew what he meant.
As he approached the meeting-place in the sewers underneath Calimport where he would meet some stupid human rogue or something like that to give it the scroll, he heard a whistling. At first, he thought it was his own whistling and began cursing himself for it. Then he remembered that he couldn't whistle, thanks to his lips being somewhat charred from the acid. Immediately he seized upon it: someone else knew the tune! He knew he should wait where he was for the meeting, but some songs cannot be denied...
Rounding a corner, he came upon a human. Normally, he didn't have much truck with humans, but this one didn't seem to be much of a threat, and he was whistling the tune. Uncertain how to proceed--often, humans ran when they saw him--he snuck up on the man. This one wasn't wearing armor, which wouldn't normally be strange, except that he also didn't carry a staff or a wand or anything else. Whatever he was wielding wasn't a weapon, that was for sure. He had a long stick with a round disc on the end of it sweeping from left to right across the floor, and another thing in his other hand that looked a bit like a skeletal arm on a stick only made of wood and some kind of metal. If he wasn't tall and pale, he would have fit right with Uncle Karathnak and his bunch of gnome tinkerers... well, they weren't really gnomes, but they got their name from the svirfneblin they'd slaughtered and the items they'd taken from him, none of which made a lick of sense but were sure fun to play with.
This tinge of familiarity emboldened Fernathik, and the man did not seem to be a threat, so he came out of hiding carefully and said, "Greetings, surface-dweller," in his politest common, his hands palms-up to show a peaceful intent. The man's whistling suddenly stopped, startled despite himself.
"I've naught of worth to you, and I'm hardly more'n stringy meat an' bones at my age, so I don't think it would be worth it to you to kill me," the human replied in a strangely calm voice.
Fernathik replied with a chuckle. "Well, there's no reason why I would want to kill you, old man, so don't worry about that. I've other things to do--but tell me--what are you doing down here?"
"Why, lookin' for treasure of course. Can't you see Mel'kazid's Treasure Finder in me hand? Well, of course you wouldn't know what that is, bein' from where you are, but it's one of the hottest new things in the Bazaar these days. Hain't found me more'n a couple coppers so far, though. I think Mel'kazid's a thief. But what can ya do?" He looked at the derro curiously. "What're you doin' here? Never seen your kind before."
"I'm here to southerize your city's weezilnathits," Fernathik said sternly. His obfuscation had always worked in the past, and he liked to make up words that sounded wizard-like to him. Remembering at the last moment his instructions, he continued, "I am a benevolent wizard, seeking friendship and redemption from the evil ways of my kind amongst the folk of the surface world." That's what Tynnos had told him to say if he was discovered, muttering something about how it had worked for Driz'zt.
The human said, "Well, I don't know much about wizardry, but ya seem a fine enough chap by me. What kin I do fer ya ta help?"
Fernathik said, desperate with his desire to rid himself of that particular madness, "That song you were whistling...for the love of Cyr...rolallee, how the REST of it go?"
Kathid bin Sabin, beggar (and now treasure-prospector in the sewers) of Calimport hadn't reached the advanced age of 43 by not being able to sense a sucker when he met one. "Well, now, lad, the bard what sings it is a personal friend of mine, and he bound me to guard his tune lest someone steal it and make a living singing it," he replied, seizing on the eagerness of the derro like a starving dog on a bone. "So I'll have ta find some means of repaying him. Perhaps we can barter..."
******************
Twenty minutes later, Kathid walked away whistling. Obviously, the Derro had never run into the particular madness that was a seasoned Calimport haggler. He'd tried to have a good haggle, but the Derro was desperate and apparently not so bright...it was like stealing candy from a baby. Richer by one ball of wax, three pebbles with some kind of crud on them, a haunch of some unidentifiable meat, a pencil, a strange spoon with some fork tines at the end of it, and--oh yes--a huge diamond that the derro had apparently been using for a looking-glass, he knew he'd had the best of the creature and then some. Originally, he'd thought that the slightly worn scroll case would be the best he'd get, especially since he couldn't unseal it, but then the diamond had come out and, after managing to keep his joy hidden, he'd gotten that, too. Oh well, maybe the scroll case would bring some price...or he would, perhaps, give it to the drunk bard at the tavern he'd originally heard the tune from. Tymora would certainly appreciate him sharing -some- of his fortune with the one who was its author, after all, even if the song was an old and tired tune.
Fernathik wandered off, ecstatic for now at least, having completely forgotten the meeting he was supposed to attend. Finally, freedom! He skipped down the halls of the sewers...and while they couldn't understand his words, the rats looked up quizzically before fleeing at the unimaginably horrid din of a Derro's untrained voice singing the refrain--and full second verse-- of "Rizzen, Beholderslayer".
Tarsakh 14, 1383 -- Blackstaff Tower, Waterdeep
Laeral Silverhand-Arunsen looked at the message that had been brought to her by the Moonstar agent not two hours below, reviewing the attached scroll. The missive from Argrim had some interesting implications. Cyricist infiltration into the enclave of Siamorphe followers in Calimshan and the Tyr followers in Tethyr, fomenting dissent amongst the armies of both nations? This couldn't be good...and the motivations were unclear. It bore investigation. She sent a runner to the Company of the Unicorn. Raisha had experience in the area (to say the least)...perhaps they could investigate further.
The Beholderslayer Timeline is rooted in the history of Michael Satran’s campaign, and as such, many of the things which changed in the canonical version of events were influenced by characters and storylines from that campaign. The primary difference is in the events which caused the major changes in the Realms. Cyric’s plot to undermine Tyr and Tymora was thwarted before it came to fruition, as was his plan to kill Mystra. As a result of this, Cyric ambushed the mortal agents responsible for thwarting those plans and was slain himself while a portal was open between his realm and that of Toril, causing his divine energies to be released throughout the Realms and the upper planes, a phenomenon known as the Madness. For the purposes of this campaign, this devastation replaces all references to the Spellplague throughout the 4E campaign world, but the effects remain essentially the same with some exceptions. A timeline detailing these events and other significant changes appears later in this document.
Abeir still intersected with Toril, causing the devastation and changes to the landscape as described in the 4E FRCS. Mythals were weakened; Portals had problems; Plaguelands exist (but do not cause spellscars; for that, see the entries on Halruua and the Anauroch Desolation later in this document); and the other changes in the FRCS are as written.
Probably the biggest change to the Realms is in its cosmology and pantheon. Most of the 3.5E planes still exist; although some have been renamed. As for the gods, some gods lived (Mystra), some were killed (Cyric), some died or faded away (the gnomish and halfling pantheons), and several new deities were created and some, thought dead, returned. Where possible, reasons for these changes are detailed in this document, but as a living campaign, with limitless possibilities for exploration, there may be changes on the fly.
Many different aspects of the Realms are different in the Beholderslayer timeline. Most of those not mentioned herein are identical to the nations, groups, and people shown in the 4th Edition Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting, but the DM reserves the right to make other changes as necessary. All references to the Spellplague should be changed to the Madness.
1. Organizations
Show
The Company of the Unicorn
The Company of the Unicorn
Show
One of the Realms’ biggest and most successful adventuring groups, made up primarily of good-aligned members. Headquartered in Waterdeep and Arabel, it had several branches and has performed many heroic deeds. Notable members were D’Gatham of Milil, Rizzen Beholderslayer, Gerrian LoCasta-Roaringhorn, the Lady Nikkadaema Roaringhorn, Arlitha Malendryl, Sir Teran Qwelar, Hobbes Harpell, and Truela Starchaser. Various groups calling themselves the Company of the Unicorn exist today, but have very little in common with the original. Of this group, only D’Gatham is still alive (see his individual entry under Personalities).
The Beholderslayer timeline features several alterations to the cosmology and pantheons of both the 3.5E and 4E Realms. Selected aspects of these changes are detailed below.
On the Nature of Divine Power and The Madness
Show
In the Beholderslayer Realms, gods receive their power from their worshippers and their degree of power tends to be in direct relation to the amount of people who hold the ideals that they represent to be important and worthy of veneration. The spiritual energy that the worshippers provide the gods allows them the power to do the things they do; and in return, their worshippers expect the gods to properly represent their portfolio and operate in the best interests thereof.
When Cyric died, the energies he had gained from his various betrayals and efforts throughout his history of fomenting strife were spread across the Realms in a cataclysmic explosion. While Strife was certainly an important concept to those living in the Realms, he had long since been overtaken by madness and delusion, and the actual nature of his original portfolio became muddled. These distorted energies released on the Realms were without any singular pattern, and the immense storehouse of power devastated not only Toril itself, but the outer planes (causing the conjunction of Abeir with Toril as well as other disruptions), the pantheons of the upper planes, and the minds of many on Toril itself.
Both good and evil deities banded together to protect the entire universe from the effects of the Madness. The idea of pockets of insane, oddly semi-sentient bits of divine power scattered across the world bode well for no one. They set up a system to reclaim, contain, and purify the energy into its pure spiritual form with the intent of using it to restore or create new deities to fill the holes left by those who had gone and to constitute new gods to represent ideals which had become important enough to the people of the Realms to warrant deities bearing those ideals as their portfolio.
This paradigm of faith in the Beholderslayer Realms is quite similar to canonical Realmslore, and leads to the following alterations to the 4E Realmslore:
In the Beholderslayer Realms, characters of the Divine power source gain their powers directly from their deity or through service to its portfolio. While this requires no conscious action on behalf of the deity, use of those powers in contradiction to the ideals of that deity is noted by its servitors and can result in a number of unpleasant results for the transgressor.
The people of the Realms often venerate many different gods, and as a truly polytheistic society, there’s no blasphemy inherent in uttering a prayer to the god of a portfolio pertinent to something you’re about to involve yourself in, even if their alignment differs from your own. The classic example of this is that of seagoing folk making offerings to Umberlee in the hopes that she will spare them from accidents at sea. However, most people of the Realms have one or at the most two patron deities whom they primarily worship; the beings who best represent the beliefs that they hold most dear.
When they die, the people of the Realms travel through the Shadowfell to the Fugue Plane, and on that journey they are often made offers by demons and devils to give up their afterlife to join the ranks of the Nine Hells or the Abyss. Once they arrive at the City of Judgment, however, they fall into three categories. Those who lived their lives faithfully to a deity or deities are sent to the home plane of their god, to live in the afterlife that that god has prepared for them. Those who have faith in no deity are called the Faithless, and when they die they are mortared into the walls of faithless souls which ring the City of Judgment, where eventually their consciousness dissipates. The False, people who made a commitment to an ideal or a belief and later betrayed it, are sentenced to an eternity of punishment in the City of Judgment itself, depending on the severity of their transgression. The particularly heinous offenders are sentenced to punishments which would surprise even the cruelest demons, but some say that that sort of punishment is preferable due to its variety and intensity when set alongside the interminable boredom associated with working the same meaningless bureaucratic or sanitation job every waking hour for eternity…
When Cyric died, the energies he had gained from his various betrayals and efforts throughout his history of fomenting strife were spread across the Realms in a cataclysmic explosion. While Strife was certainly an important concept to those living in the Realms, he had long since been overtaken by madness and delusion, and the actual nature of his original portfolio became muddled. These distorted energies released on the Realms were without any singular pattern, and the immense storehouse of power devastated not only Toril itself, but the outer planes (causing the conjunction of Abeir with Toril as well as other disruptions), the pantheons of the upper planes, and the minds of many on Toril itself.
Both good and evil deities banded together to protect the entire universe from the effects of the Madness. The idea of pockets of insane, oddly semi-sentient bits of divine power scattered across the world bode well for no one. They set up a system to reclaim, contain, and purify the energy into its pure spiritual form with the intent of using it to restore or create new deities to fill the holes left by those who had gone and to constitute new gods to represent ideals which had become important enough to the people of the Realms to warrant deities bearing those ideals as their portfolio.
This paradigm of faith in the Beholderslayer Realms is quite similar to canonical Realmslore, and leads to the following alterations to the 4E Realmslore:
In the Beholderslayer Realms, characters of the Divine power source gain their powers directly from their deity or through service to its portfolio. While this requires no conscious action on behalf of the deity, use of those powers in contradiction to the ideals of that deity is noted by its servitors and can result in a number of unpleasant results for the transgressor.
The people of the Realms often venerate many different gods, and as a truly polytheistic society, there’s no blasphemy inherent in uttering a prayer to the god of a portfolio pertinent to something you’re about to involve yourself in, even if their alignment differs from your own. The classic example of this is that of seagoing folk making offerings to Umberlee in the hopes that she will spare them from accidents at sea. However, most people of the Realms have one or at the most two patron deities whom they primarily worship; the beings who best represent the beliefs that they hold most dear.
When they die, the people of the Realms travel through the Shadowfell to the Fugue Plane, and on that journey they are often made offers by demons and devils to give up their afterlife to join the ranks of the Nine Hells or the Abyss. Once they arrive at the City of Judgment, however, they fall into three categories. Those who lived their lives faithfully to a deity or deities are sent to the home plane of their god, to live in the afterlife that that god has prepared for them. Those who have faith in no deity are called the Faithless, and when they die they are mortared into the walls of faithless souls which ring the City of Judgment, where eventually their consciousness dissipates. The False, people who made a commitment to an ideal or a belief and later betrayed it, are sentenced to an eternity of punishment in the City of Judgment itself, depending on the severity of their transgression. The particularly heinous offenders are sentenced to punishments which would surprise even the cruelest demons, but some say that that sort of punishment is preferable due to its variety and intensity when set alongside the interminable boredom associated with working the same meaningless bureaucratic or sanitation job every waking hour for eternity…
Below, you will find jpeg images of the tables of deities in the Realms as well as those who are dead or departed.
Original Timeline (for purposes of illustrating the divergence point):
1384 Year of Three Streams Blooded (from Grand History of the Realms):
"Siamorphe quarrels with Tyr when the deities take different sides in a clash between Tethyrian and Calimshite forces. She removes herself from the House of the Triad and joins Sune's court in Brightwater. Tyr sends Helm to plead his case with Sune. The goddess of love suggests a marriage between Tyr and Tymora to set the celestial planes in balance again. Helm conveys Sune's suggestion to Tyr, and begins to chaperone a chaste courtship between Tyr and Tymora. Strange and fateful misunderstandings lead to the accusation that Helm has stolen Tymora's heart while conveying the gifts and sentiments of Tyr. A strict interpretation of his own ideals forces Tyr to challenge Helm, and Helm is obliged by his own ideals to meet the challenge. The two gods do battle, and Tyr slays Helm before the deities come to their senses. Heartbroken, Tymora accompanies Tyr back to the House of the Triad. Though nothing can be proved, the gods sense the hand of Cyric in Helm's death."
Beholderslayer Timeline:
1384 DR Year of Three Streams Blooded
-After the discovery of a plan by the Church of Cyric in Amn to incite an incident between Calimshite and Tethyrian forces, the Company of the Unicorn unravels a deep and interweaving plot to cause conflict amongst the gods, slaying Watchful Skull Tynnos Argrim as well as other key members of the Cyricist church and warning Siamorphe and Tyr of infiltrations into their church. The plot is thwarted.
1385-1379:
Show
1385 DR Year of Blue Fire
1385 DR Year of Blue Fire
Show
-Rakthis Bloodstone, Lord of Hellsbane and a member of the Lord's Council of the Silver Marches, is contacted by an emissary from the church of Bane through Zhentarim contacts. He is warned of a plot by Cyric to slay Mystra, an eventuality that Bane does not wish to occur. The Baneites believe that Rakthis, being neutral, would actually give them a chance to talk before slaying them out of hand, and they prove correct. The Fellowship of the Azure Phoenix moves to counter Toril-based elements of Cyric's mad plan, which is eventually thwarted by the gods themselves.
-Rakthis Bloodstone, Lord of Hellsbane and a member of the Lord's Council of the Silver Marches, is contacted by an emissary from the church of Bane through Zhentarim contacts. He is warned of a plot by Cyric to slay Mystra, an eventuality that Bane does not wish to occur. The Baneites believe that Rakthis, being neutral, would actually give them a chance to talk before slaying them out of hand, and they prove correct. The Fellowship of the Azure Phoenix moves to counter Toril-based elements of Cyric's mad plan, which is eventually thwarted by the gods themselves.
The first series of adventures for this campaign will revolve around a group of missionaries sent to Abeir to spread their faiths. Details on Returned Abeir in the Beholderslayer universe are below.
Show
Most Faerunians could care less about Returned Abeir, and even those who deal regularly with Tymanther and Akanul have little interest in that far-away continent (largely because of the physical distances between those inland transplanted nations of Abeir and Returned Abeir itself). Only a few nations have an interest in Returned Abeir and that interest is primarily economic. Amn, Calimshan, Baldur’s Gate, Waterdeep, Tethyr, Velen, and the Moonshaes all have varying degrees of trade with the continent, with Amn and some Waterdhavian merchant interests taking the lead in such dealings. The overall trade, however, is quite limited. Pirates from Nelanther often interfere with that trade. In Luruar, efforts to establish portals to increase that inland nation’s trade with Returned Abeir are just beginning.
Dragons in Faerun are of two minds about Returned Abeir. Most of the stronger dragons avoid Abeir, not wishing to come into conflict with the dragons of that area. However, the Dragon Princes of Murghom are eager to begin some sort of political relationship with the dragon lords of Abeir, though they’re not entirely sure how to go about that yet. Some say the rulers of Murghom are attempting to establish their nations following the pattern of those in Returned Abeir.
Perhaps predictably, the Zhentarim are deeply interested in Returned Abeir as a means of increasing their economic dominance in Faerun via providing goods that simply cannot be found in Faerun that they get from Returned Abeir. They have made many inroads into the draconic nations of Abeir and use the portals that link their holdings in the Anauroch Desolation to hasten travel, though those passages across the Shadowfell are fraught with dangers that make the seas look tame.
Where the Zhentarim go, the White Network follows, and while their numbers are slim in Returned Abeir, they operate alongside the Band of the Broken Shackle to support one another therein. The Band itself has an intense interest in Returned Abeir, and has been heavily recruiting members amongst the Dragonborn in that nation. The freedom afforded by the Forlorn Hope’s ability to teleport between bodies of water has allowed them to meet with some success, and various individuals have remarked on the similarities between the Band’s operations in Abeir and their historical efforts against Thay. A portal links Annelet to an undisclosed location, thought to be located either in the Sword Lands or Eskorn.
The Harpers have minimal presence in Returned Abeir, as they’ve got enough to do in Faerun. However, a few Harper spies do exist within the port cities, gathering intelligence on Amnian and other merchant relations and the activities of the Zhentarim as they might provide threats to the stability of Faerun.
The gods and their faiths have, until recently, had their hands full in Faerun in fighting the Madness. It is only in the last five years that they’ve managed to turn their attentions to the new continent. Many faiths have little interest in the area due to the difficulty of convincing the Abeirians that the gods actually /do/ answer their prayers, and there’s a great deal of risk associated with operating in nations ruled by dragons who ruthlessly hunt down those who would dare worship anyone other than their draconic masters. That being said, Abeir is looked upon by many of the new Exarchs as a place to develop bases of worshippers who they won’t have to convert from more established faiths and thus cause friction with other deities.
Gods whose religious orders have particular interest in Abeir include (but are not limited to): Amaunator, Bane, Kelemvor, Ilmater, Oghma, Tempus; Bahamut and Tiamat; Gond; Tymora and Beshaba; Waukeen; Eilistraee; Fzoul; Entreri; Gerrian; Milil; Raisha; Vastav and Zora.
Most Faerunians could care less about Returned Abeir, and even those who deal regularly with Tymanther and Akanul have little interest in that far-away continent (largely because of the physical distances between those inland transplanted nations of Abeir and Returned Abeir itself). Only a few nations have an interest in Returned Abeir and that interest is primarily economic. Amn, Calimshan, Baldur’s Gate, Waterdeep, Tethyr, Velen, and the Moonshaes all have varying degrees of trade with the continent, with Amn and some Waterdhavian merchant interests taking the lead in such dealings. The overall trade, however, is quite limited. Pirates from Nelanther often interfere with that trade. In Luruar, efforts to establish portals to increase that inland nation’s trade with Returned Abeir are just beginning.
Dragons in Faerun are of two minds about Returned Abeir. Most of the stronger dragons avoid Abeir, not wishing to come into conflict with the dragons of that area. However, the Dragon Princes of Murghom are eager to begin some sort of political relationship with the dragon lords of Abeir, though they’re not entirely sure how to go about that yet. Some say the rulers of Murghom are attempting to establish their nations following the pattern of those in Returned Abeir.
Perhaps predictably, the Zhentarim are deeply interested in Returned Abeir as a means of increasing their economic dominance in Faerun via providing goods that simply cannot be found in Faerun that they get from Returned Abeir. They have made many inroads into the draconic nations of Abeir and use the portals that link their holdings in the Anauroch Desolation to hasten travel, though those passages across the Shadowfell are fraught with dangers that make the seas look tame.
Where the Zhentarim go, the White Network follows, and while their numbers are slim in Returned Abeir, they operate alongside the Band of the Broken Shackle to support one another therein. The Band itself has an intense interest in Returned Abeir, and has been heavily recruiting members amongst the Dragonborn in that nation. The freedom afforded by the Forlorn Hope’s ability to teleport between bodies of water has allowed them to meet with some success, and various individuals have remarked on the similarities between the Band’s operations in Abeir and their historical efforts against Thay. A portal links Annelet to an undisclosed location, thought to be located either in the Sword Lands or Eskorn.
The Harpers have minimal presence in Returned Abeir, as they’ve got enough to do in Faerun. However, a few Harper spies do exist within the port cities, gathering intelligence on Amnian and other merchant relations and the activities of the Zhentarim as they might provide threats to the stability of Faerun.
The gods and their faiths have, until recently, had their hands full in Faerun in fighting the Madness. It is only in the last five years that they’ve managed to turn their attentions to the new continent. Many faiths have little interest in the area due to the difficulty of convincing the Abeirians that the gods actually /do/ answer their prayers, and there’s a great deal of risk associated with operating in nations ruled by dragons who ruthlessly hunt down those who would dare worship anyone other than their draconic masters. That being said, Abeir is looked upon by many of the new Exarchs as a place to develop bases of worshippers who they won’t have to convert from more established faiths and thus cause friction with other deities.
Gods whose religious orders have particular interest in Abeir include (but are not limited to): Amaunator, Bane, Kelemvor, Ilmater, Oghma, Tempus; Bahamut and Tiamat; Gond; Tymora and Beshaba; Waukeen; Eilistraee; Fzoul; Entreri; Gerrian; Milil; Raisha; Vastav and Zora.
Hope you folks will find it interesting and comment!
Very well written and creative. I may have steal a few of the ideas myself. I was telling one of my new players about "The Madness" as your alternative to "The Spellplague" and was more intrigued with the Madness. Now I'll probably have to fight over what is to what could be. :P
In essence I think it does everything that the Spellplague and Plaguelands can do, and in fact probably provides a better justification for the sheer mad chaoticness of it all.
However, there is a lot of flavor left in the Spellscarred reflecting arcane fire and all that jazz... I think... I don't quite remember. I'll have to look over it.
Overall, from what I've read, and I've not read much of it mind you, I like what I see. Its different, that's for certain. I'll read some more and see what happens. I think its pretty good, though.
Thank you very much for sharing!