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Ideas for Worlds The Southbridge Campaign "In a forgotten land just beyond the sunrise, the war against Evil never ends." (revised 22 Jan 2003) Introduction The Southbridge Campaign is planned as a small scale, semi-persistent world that will reflect the actions of the players in the development of the world. No characters will originate in Southbridge, but instead will be visitors who have travelled here through the World Gate (Portal). Characters can choose to live in Southbridge if they wish, although this may be an unsafe option at times. The Campaign may offer PvP, if events lead in that direction, however general murder and grief play will be discouraged via ingame disincentives. Southbridge will feature opportunities for role-playing, monster hunting, participating in battles, and may offer a place for evil characters to adventure or make a home (depending on how certain ideas develop). Players maybe recruited to take on the role of various NPCs for special events. The campaign will use the standard rules of the game so as to be as compatible with as much of the multiverse as possible. Information on any changes will be available in advance. The Tale of the Forgotten Gate This tale is set on a nameless world, ancient and ruined. Most consider it a worthless fable, but others look at the unexplained horrors that emerge from the darkness and wonder… For untold eras evil creatures have spawned deep in the southern wastes and then walked, crawled, flew, or staggered north through a narrow pass to an ancient World Gate. They passed through this portal and emerged on countless worlds, causing death and terror across the multiverse. Some forgotten hero found the Gate and tried to stem the tide of evil, and others followed. From across the multiverse, people (and some entities not defined as "people") came to fight or offer what skills they had to try to stop the march of evil through the Gate. Bakers, smiths, and carpenters were as needed as sorcerers, rogues, and soldiers. A village, and then a town sprang up along both sides of the river that ran by the Gate. A fort was built in the pass and for a time the evil was contained in the wastes to the south. When the monsters stopped appearing on the other worlds, memories began to fade and the knowledge of the Gate and the need to guard it was lost. Few people found their way to the town, and the population diminished. The pent up tide of evil swept north through the pass, threw down the fort, and destroyed the town. Once again the creatures were free to pass through the Gate and attack the innocent on worlds across the multiverse. Eventually, a hero tracked these creatures back through the Gate and found the ruined town and fort. Others found their way and once again took up the battle to stop the march of evil through the World Gate. And the cycle continued…. Southbridge Southbridge was founded 370 years ago on ancient ruins by Sterrik the Intemperate, commander of a force of mercenaries and mages who came through the World Gate seeking the source of an attack of demons on the city of Phlan. He built Crow Castle on the foundation of ruined fortifications in the pass and stayed there for the rest of his life, leading the defense of the Gate until slain while defending the walls of the castle at age 83. During his life he travelled through portals to many worlds and recruited a diverse selection of beings to his cause. After his death Southbridge continued to thrive and the foul creatures were pushed deep into the southern wastes. Over time, memories of the monsters faded and fewer volunteers made their way through the gate. The defenders suffered a series of defeats in the south and over generations the defense fell back, eventually giving up all ground except the lone castle in the pass. There the situation remained for many years. 25 years ago, an army of foul creatures stormed north through the pass and threw down Crow Castle. They fell upon Southbridge and slaughtered most of the inhabitants before pouring through the World Gate and out into the multiverse. Now an effort is being mounted to restore Southbridge and stem the tide of horror. The Wizard Mercy has recruited mercenaries and others and is about to move into Southbridge and rebuild the defenses. She has gathered a small number of adventurers to scout the land first and determine the current state of affairs. The Forlorn Hope Sterrik the Intemperate founded a military company to fight the creatures from the waste and named them after the unit of volunteers that leads the attack when storming a city. At its height, the Forlorn Hope numbered in the thousands and controlled a huge territory south of the pass. They could best be characterized as an assembly of adventurers, idealists, drifters, people with nowhere else to hide, and suicidal maniacs. The Forlorn Hope waned as the creatures from the waste took back the south, and now numbers a total of six soldiers living in a crumbling tower not far from the Gate. There may be a uniform if a suitable graphic can be found. Players will be able to join the Forlorn Hope. There is a test that involves killing things. A bounty is offered on certain tokens (ears, scalps, badges, etc.) recovered from dead monsters. Hathallya, Goddess of Light, Demonslayer When Sterrik built Southbridge, he found an ancient ruined temple built on a foundation that was even older. Buried beneath the ruins he found what seemed to be sacred relics, which he gave to his sages to study. Their research produced very little until six years later when stone tablets were unearthed while digging a well. These tablets, when deciphered, told of the Goddess Hathallya and her fight against the evil to the south. The tablets were quoting even earlier texts, and do not indicate the origin of Hathallya. Ellessia Silverthorn, a half elf deist serving in the Forlorn Hope, founded a cult dedicated to Her. The ruined temple was rebuilt and the Forlorn Hope adopted Hathallya as their patron Goddess. She is portrayed as a blonde woman in plate armour, with a glowing light where her face should be, masking her features completely. She bears a gold chalice in her left hand and wields a golden mace or hammer in the right. Her symbol is a gold chalice on a blue field. There is a shrine to Hathallya in the ruined town south of the pass that may have holy relics hidden below it. Alatelle wants them back. Players who join this cult will receive certain benefits; these benefits will be local in nature and cannot be used outside the world. A priest of a compatible religion can join the cult as an associate; other characters may join by adding a level as a priest. News and Rumours The fall of Crow Castle came as a surprise. An army of creatures stormed up the pass and laid siege to the castle but the Forlorn Hope, though diminished, was still potent. The wall and ground before the castle were torn by hellish magics and many died, but the castle held. On the third night of the siege monsters somehow got into the castle and opened the gates. The castle fell and the horde rushed south. Residents of the town flooded through the Gate to escape as the fell horde attacked the farms and town. There were rumours that a traitor had let the creatures into Crow Castle. In the end the monsters were crowded around the Gate trying to get through and fights broke out which escalated into a riot. Some of the monsters retreated into the pass and went back south. Ellessia Silverthorn, High Preiestess of Hathallya, may have survived the fall of Southbridge and could still be alive today. Evil necromancers have raised members of the Forlorn Hope as undead. The upcoming Southbridge Ferret Legging Championship is still postponed. Enemies from the Wasteland The Order of the Black Rose (monks and mages) Name to Watch For Baelach the Undying World Notes Very little is known of this world, not even a name. It is reasonably certain that this is a very old world, mostly uninhabited, and that there was a great war of magic at some point in the remote past that resulted in the wasteland south of the pass and the creatures that spawn there. A few legends have been deciphered from stone carvings found amidst ruins near the town. Ancient fortifications were discovered deep in the south when the Forlorn Hope held that land. Strange and deadly enchantments remain as hazards to travel. North of the valley containing Southbridge are vast forests and wilderness where dire animals roam. Design Notes The campaign will be run in chapter form, with a new chapter going online and remaining live until all the objectives are met. Progress of the Campaign When the campaign starts, Southbridge will be almost deserted and plagued by monsters. The farms to the south will be abandoned and also infested with monsters. When the town is cleared to the river line (the south edge of the town) and other objectives are met, the town will be reclaimed and the first wave of NPCs will arrive to inhabit the town. Once the farm and forest areas to the south are cleared then a second wave of NPCs will move into the farms. Eventually, when Crow Castle is retaken, the Forlorn Hope will get a surge of NPC recruits. If artwork permits, Southbridge will start in a damaged and distressed condition and will improve over time. Glossary of Terms Deist: a priest that does not worship a specific deity. Priest: the preferred term for Cleric. NWN Game Notes There will be DAoC style Bind Stones for dead characters to respawn back to. Resting, when possible, will be limited to once per 8 minutes. A character cannot level up until after resting.
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