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#1 QuietK Aug 15, 2011 14:28:44

Let me first start by saying that I am new to being a DM, and while I'm still getting books for/reading on how to design encounters and the like, I've been working on the story. This World is called Caelum (Kay-Lum), or perhaps more appropriately, was called Caelum before The Corruption. For those familiar with Latin, the name means 'Heaven', and the idea of this Kingdom of  Heaven being corrupted is an overarching theme in this broken world. Though a vestige of this Kingdom remains in the Southwest, where it is able to stave off what roams Where Angels Fear to Tread (what the land beyond their borders is referred to as), their strength is but a vestige of what it once was, and only wanes. Even here, the corruption evidences itself. Former Holy Springs have been the doom of all who enter, and even the sky appears to grow darker, seeming to forebode the doom of Caelum's final bastion. Yet this Kingdom was once the earthly equivalent of its namesake. It stood under one banner, a Blazing White Angel set on against Emerald Field, the Crest of the Royal Family. The Royal Family were of the line of Ardel, the first King of Caelum. As years turned to decades, and decades faded to centuries the Nobility of this line grew ever more thin, and though the cities and armies of the Kingdom still stood, the strength behind them was fading. Each man who would succeed to the throne was ever less worthy of the Hall of Kings, and its glory faded with each successive King. Finally, there seemed to be one Prince worthy of comparison to Ardel himself, and with his rise to the Throne of Caelum, it seemed that Glory of a Kingdom which had been slowly waning was in part restored in this new King Valas. Yet for his every virtue, his son seemed to have inherited a vice to mirror it, and it was the lust for power in Antanas that led him to barter with Demons for his Fathers Throne. A man who had seized the Throne of Caelum by way of a Pact with a Demon led to what was called the corruption. Antanas thought he had seized power for himself, but had been used as a tool to break the line which had united Caelum. What had been a place of beauty where words like Honor and Valor held sway was changed utterly. The great cities of the Kingdom became the fortresses of Demons and Necromancers, a land that was once guarded by Knights possessed of the moral conviction Crusaders was ravaged by unholy abominations. The only part of the Kingdom which survives is ruled by a line of Stewards of the Throne; it is rumored that some descendants of Ardel may still live, but since it was one of their family who brought about the corruption, whether they will ever again wear the crown is doubtful. Yet how long what is left of Caelum can repulse the attacks from Where Angels Fear to Tread is also a dire question, burning in the back of everyone's mind, not the least the current Steward. ___________ The group will start in the South West vestige of Caelum, in its southern most part. They will start in a yet to be named village situated near a Holy Spring. Formerly it had been a pilgrimage site, particularly in the days of King Valas and the Kings who preceded him. Yet the last group that entered the Wood surrounding it did not return, and those who went to investigate the fate of the pilgrims met the same fate themselves. It is suspected that at the Holy Spring, something has taken up residence, in addition to whatever may lurk in the surrounding woods. For what is at the Spring I'm considering a Crimson Death or a Banshee, pending what I think these players will be able to handle. So with it in mind that this is my first campaign, what changes should I make, what do I need to flesh out? And anything else which you feel might be helpful is also welcome.