Oppress the Weak, Burn the Witches, Rule With an IRON Fist

[Spiffy Has]

Hey, I want to run a campaign where you, the players, set out to conquer the world and spread a new age of oppression and darkness by which various heroes will rise to confront you! Armies will be mustered, monsters will be enslaved, and all monks will be executed.

Oh my!

If you're interested, join #TyrantCampaign on IRC.

Ciao!

[Luke Danger]

Armies will be mustered, monsters will be enslaved, and all monks will be executed.

"Hang Friar-" *ahem* "Er... Hang Friar Tuck?"

[Spiffy Has]

Okay, I got to many requests for more info, so, here goes-

The setting is not the forgotten realms, but for the sake of convenience, we use forgotten realms deities. The difference being- they barely pay attention to the realms and are embroiled with their own schemes and interest, leaving the business of answering miracles and rewarding diligent and faithful mortals to servitors, who more often than not, have agendas of their own. This results in a splintered, factitious faiths where infighting is common. Churches usually hold sway over entire regions, and dispute with the faithful of the same god due to the nature of these beings influencing the priesthood. Shrines are common, and are tended by those who rarely possess divine powers.

The realm for the most part will consist of three countries, The Kingdom of the Anatolians, a Greek/Romanesque Culture that depends heavily on slaves. The society is rich with culture and corrupt. It leans toward the evil end of the spectrum. It lies on a peninsula to the western of the Continent. Their government is Republican, where land owners hold the most sway, and the public is largely uneducated and leisurely, due to the immense number of slaves, fed by the massive importation of food to the cities. It is a complacent population, where the soldiers, laborers, and farmworkers are all slaves, be they monster or demi-human, captured by approved raiders who may enter the scars/Demi-Human Lands/Dhaal lands to acquire slaves.

The Kingdom is largely Neutral with Evil Inclinations of corruption, hedonism, and corpulence.

No Kingdom borders another, as the land area is simply massive, and what truly seperates kingdoms are mountain lands named the "Scarred Territories", filled with monsters, and magical beasts, no Kingdom has the resources required to truly exploit/mine/control these territories for the time being. These will be extremely important to the campaign.

It is commonly held such lands are CURSED and those who enter DO NOT RETURN UNSCARRED

Trade routes through these territories are often hotly contested and more than one war sparks between the Three Kingdoms over taxation rights, only to end abruptly as they unite to face opportunistic monsters coming from the Scarred Territories.

The next realm is where the Campaign will take place for the most Part, the Kingdom of the Dhaal. A feudalistic society that owes fealty to several lords who form a congress known as the "diet", where a King is elected amongst the highest standing lords of the realm rather than passed down the lineage. The Vote must be unanimous, and thus results in a great deal of bribing, maneuvering, and assassinations to take place, all within careful limits, those who exceed these limits are often banished from the Diet so the King may be chosen, as the realm sorely remembers the previous decade where the Diet could not pick a King. It is considered very poor manners to 'explode the diet', by which one lord is obstinate and refuses to change his vote to the victor when it becomes clear, and more than one lord found a headless corpse swinging outside their window to help them arrive at that decision as well. The Power of the King depends on how shrewdly he manipulated the lords who elected him.

The Kingdom of the Dhaal is a largely Neutral Society, where extreme alignments are uncommon. Standard virtues are hard work, loyalty to ones lord, be they villain or saint, and faith.

The Third and Final Kingdom, which is barely considered a sovereign land by the two others, is the Kingdom of the Half-Men, every other race in the Continent gathers there to live in perpetual squalor, or so is believed. The land is seen as poor, muddy; rumor holds that the the most common cause of death is malnutrition and disease. No kingdom wants the demi-humans, and they are isolated from the human Kingdoms. Much anger toward humans resides there, whispers dark corners of the tavern, and it's often considered death for a lone human to enter the poor, resource-deprived territories. And death for the human seen leaving them, as they are quickly slain by zealous border agents from both kingdoms to keep their population clean of the 'half-man plagues.'

Little is known of the kingdom of Half-Men, and no one really wants to know more than what is spoken in taverns.

Now, for the "heroes"

The Family was once the wealthiest in the Diet of the Dhaal, and refused to back the favorite. Using their immense wealth, they managed to stall the selection of a King, and caused a civil war. Grossly outnumbered, they were eventually banished to the very edge of the SCARRED LANDS that borders the edge of the Kingdom Of Dhall in the direction of the ANATOLIAN KINGDOM. The keep they reside in is a decrepit ruin, and only serves the barest of comforts- security against monster raids from the scars. A handful and dim shadow of the greatness they once were, the Castle Schmerz staffs roughly fifty individuals. Twenty Soldiers, ten hunter gatherers, five retainers (The players) five family members, and ten peasants who work to repair the keep in a never ending toil.

The Patriarch of the Family is Lord Imaro Amalya, a harsh, cold man whose mind seems slightly broken from being driven from their considerable holdings. He sleeps in the only bed of the keep beside the skeletal remains of his wife which he refuses to bury.

The Real power of the family lies with his daughter, Lady Ariah Amalya, a composed, urbane woman who rarely shows emotion. She murdered her husband in the wedding bed to stiffly oppose her father's selection. It is largely held if she performed her duty instead of remaining a maiden that night, the position of the family might not be so dire.

The three family members are merely children, the heir to the Patriarchy of the Family is Eustace Amalya, a bright child who holds an uncommon grasp of magic, and many regard him suspiciously as he continually secrets himself in his quarters, where strange fumes waft and dark winds blow from.

The other two children are girls, twins, Ericka and Rachel, they are the only pin points of light and happiness in the cold, dank, dripping keep. Their jubilant laughter echoes through the halls of the crumbling keep to warm the hearts of the common men, and perhaps- let them look forward to a brighter future.

The Leader of the Soldiers is Captain Ignam Brightspark, a fiery man whose passion inspires his men to rally against goblin sally and gnoll raids, he drills them relentlessly, and its held that it was a miracle he's only lost five men in the three years they've been holed up at the keep.

The leader of the huntsmen is a dark, mysterious man by the name of Glynn Forester, where rumor holds he is a half-elf. A skilled ranger, he leads his men into the scars daily, to bring back deer, boar, and strange, dark beasts as trophies...

The leader of the laborers is a fat, corpulent man from the Anatolian Kingdom Agrate Remarus, exiled from the Kingdom for attempting to organize a slave revolt to capture the riches of his betters. The family took him in for his ability to organize men. He doubles as the quartermaster, doling out what few supplies are left.

However, a recent emissary clothed in the blackest cloth comes from the Scarred Mountains, promising to change the fortunes of the family forever.

The Nature of Magic in the Kingdoms differ. In the Anatolian Peninsula/Kingdom, Magicians are used to make life easier for the corpulent rich and to maintain control over the dangerous masses. Enchantment, illusion, and divination are valued talents there. Magicians possess vast freedoms. Any magic users found amongst slaves are quickly slain. Faith is weak in the Peninsula, though the most prominent is that of Sharress, Waukeen, Ilmater, and Cyric. Including various monstrous deities their slaves follow.

The Kingdom is Dhaal is different, it holds a long standing, but rarely enforced ban on magic other than divine. Arcanists survive by apprenticing themselves to noblemen who possess arcane talents, and are immune to the ban. These wizards are then forced to serve the noble family or be 'outed' as an illegal magic user and summarily executed. Deep suspicions are rooted against Mage Nobles, and as such, rarely become the Patriarchs of the Family. The cost of rulership of the family is the price one pays to become a mage of any power. The more powerful they become, the more scrutiny is delivered to them by jealous clerics and churches who do not want to compete with the arcane for the tithes and money of the peasantry. Common faiths are Waukeen, Chauntea, Siamorphe, and Torm (Think of an LN version of him).

No one knows the status of mages in the Demi-Human Kingdoms, though it is known they possess them, as they are regularly encountered to halt raids into their territory.

MAGICAL RACES OF THE REALMS

There is one magical race that is universal throughout the realms, and this is the fey. Reviled, hated, beloved- it depends on where you go in each Kingdom, as the Fey are as duplicitous and ranging as the human races. Little is known about them, as any who actively study them go mad. Folklore provides some clues, however- that they adore sweets and will pull light hearted pranks, and if you please them, may grant a wish. They often grant their favorites gifts, which may or may not be to their liking...[[Contact me if you wish to play a fey-touched.]]

Scattered throughout the realms are the -SCARRED TOUCH-, beings who were touched in the queer way that only the Scars can do. Ranging from a simple skin change to aberrant eye stalks, to immense strength or sudden insight and intelluct, the Scarred-Touch are all easily recognized by a faint shimmering aura about their person, and are universally shunned and hated. More than One Scarred Touch has been put to the torch in all three kingdoms. [[Contact me if you wish to play one.]]

[Spiffy Has]

Sunday NOON (12:00pm)EST, for first session

Current Players: Barber, Robocop, Rose, LukeDanger, Zango, Fitzwilliam, Unknown Lady

There is room for more.

[Spiffy Has]

http://tyrantsrealm.proboards.com/ We got forums. PLease register and make yourself active accordingly.

[Spiffy Has]

Bumping this. All out war is coming soon to the Kingdom, and those who wish to reap the harvest of souls and innocent lives would do well to offer their swords in the name of the black banner of house Amalya...

Loads more info can be found on the forum.

Some screenshots...

It began with a betrayal...



Dark alliances are formed...



Corruption runs amok...



A lust for war simmers...



Mysteries wander undiscovered...



And creatures eldritch and foul wait in dark corners