The ALLIANCE

An Alliance was formed by Human, Elves and Dwarves recently to protect their borders from an invading army to the south called the Dread Empire. This empire having conquered the southern lands moved across the wastelands towards Keldorn.

The young nation sent for aid from their tenuously allied neighbours. They then bolstered their warriors and moved to the edge of the wastes and waited.

The attack never came, but their alliance was answered by the wood, stone, sea and fire high elves; the gold and ice dwarves; and the gypsies, barbarians and azrahdii. They had never warred with one another, but an alliance had never been officially forged until now.

The gypsies having already fled the southern lands were the first to be standing with the keldornan soldiers at the wastes when the requests for aid went out.

The high elves were the first to respond, answering to a higher being then themselves the fae commanded them to lend aid against this dark force. Representatives from all four of the high elves agreed and soldiers were sent; fire, wood, stone and sea.

Even though the keldornans had a great repore with the gold dwarves, their kind did not respond for a very long time. Despite their nature to quickly get in to a brawl or war they took a declaration of friendship far more seriously and cautiously.

The barbarians came out of the mountains seeking gold, their homes having been ravaged by the horde more as of late, the chiefs saw the invasion as a way to make some coin, if not grant an opportunity for looting and to open trades.

The azrahdii then sent several skirmish forces to guard their border at the wastes, and sent messages to the keldornans that they were at the ready.

Last to respond were the ice dwarves deep in the mountains, solemly they marched their regiments from the mountains and arrived without fanfare or pomp, they set up camp and waited to do battle.

The Empire moved their forces forward, but the attack never came. In the distance the alliance could see a huge structure slowly arise. Scouts only reported a large black wall. For two years the wall slowly rose, joining the two mountain ranges to the south and then nothing.

Another year passed and the soldiers began to crack, their crops and homes were wasting away. The generals left contingencies, but the bulk of the armies turned their heads homeward.

The HORDE

The horde has been around for centuries in one form or another. It is filled with orcs, goblins, ogres, trolls, harpies, dark elves and whatever filth it can find. The most recent horde was led by an orc named Blacktusk. This savage brute almost wiped out the keldornan tribes, until they banded together beneath a single flag and defeated the monstrous raiders. Now the horde is led by no one particular leader, but many are poised to take the reigns yet again.

The EMPIRE

Dreadlanders were a lost people, once believed to be human, they were left to their demise in the deadlands to the south. They survived and thrived in the harshest of climates and migrated to the lands neighbouring them and claimed them as their own. Then they gained strength enough to conquer and they began to invade neighbouring realms. Their invasions were ironclad, not simple raids. They would send initial waves of monstrosities and then their armies of soldiers and constructs. Once conquered they occupied the nation and demanded half of the remaining army in conquest of the next nation. As long as they kept those armies moving they were unstoppable. No single nation was able to withstand them, and none cared to join against them.

Eventually they conquered the south and turned their eyes north. A Dreadlord was sent with his army, they stopped at the ruins of Zhira, and there is where everything changed. They awoke ancient spirits there, that attacked them and decimated their army. Weakened, but unwilling to retreat back through the wastelands, the general abandoned his camp in Zhira pushed forward to the pass between the Barren Mountains and the Icrecrest Mountains. There he built a great black wall with 3 massive towers, using the slaves he captured from nearby villages.

There the Dreadlord waits, rebuilding his army.

KINGDOMS & TRIBES

Other forces around the world plot their own course, and many will cross paths

... this will be explored more in detail in the future.

GUILDS & ORDERS

Some groups are bound by a cause or a class rather than a king or an emperor. The Order of Light for instance is bound by a greater good than a mortal king. The Watch takes care of towns and villages while the Army takes heed of the borders. The Thieves Guild only protects their own interests, while the Wizard Guilds only protect their trade.

ALIGNMENTS

Good, Evil, Chaotic & Neutral are the four alignments found in the DC universe.

All characters begin as neutral and can either work their way to the other alignments or make an effort to remain unnoticed as a neutral party. They care for those they know; their family, their friends, but the affairs of those they do not know is none of their concern. Neutral is the type to rescue the damsel and claim the posted reward, regardless of the true cost to the people posting the reward. Money or nature is often the strongest bond. Some characters prefer to go unnoticed in their deeds as it is in their best interests like that of thieves, however, some gain notoriety and wind up with a good or bad reputation regardless.

Doing good deeds and having the word spread can result in being met with hospitality from locals, hostility from evil characters, pestering from the needy or constant requests from the law. You are the kind to rescue the damsel but ask for no reward in return. The more goodwill given the stronger the good aura becomes.

Acting selflishly or suspiciously results in an evil aura. Perhaps returning to town without your hirelings was necessary, but after a few times the locals may begin to wonder why the bodies are never returned for resurrection when you can afford luxury items at the magic shop. The locals cow before you and distrust you, you are set upon by would-be heroes or posturing opposition, and treachery lurks at every corner. You are likely the one that kidnapped the damsel, slayed some hapless goblins (your previous partners) and then gained the reward for both returning the damsel and the bounty on the goblins.

Outstanding deeds mixed with suspicious actions can result in a chaotic aura. When your actions are so erratic that the locals can not trust you to keep your word and do not know if you will crush them or embrace them, they too can get unpredictable. The law will keep an eye on you, allies may not trust you, but you may find fanatics that would flock to your cause. You might be the one to slay everyone involved with kidnapping the damsel, then return her, refuse the reward and instead demand her unwilling hand in marriage as the prize.