Welcome to the Campaign

It is an ominous time in the The Riding, a small domain existing in the lowlands along the Green River, stretching from the forbidding Badcrag Mountains and their grumbling volcanos to the Forearc Basin and the nefarious island empire that it hosts. It had been a bucolic, peaceful land, prospering under the gaze of kind and benevolent gods.

But, twenty five year ago, The Empire of Polonia invaded and conquered the cities of the Riding. The Empire has brought Legions that enforce a harsh and brutal rule of law and a rapacious merchant company that imposes great hardship and suffering. The people suffer, but hope exists, as a Resistance has formed, hoping to throw off the yoke of the villainous oppressors.

Meanwhile, strange cries now echo during the night across what were empty forests. Unexpected fires burn in ruins long thought deserted. The Riding is an old land, built on the bones of forgotten Orcish and Elvish kingdoms. Powerful forces have again begun to rise, some freshly born and others ancient and newly reawakened. The closely laid plans of competing factions are reaching fruition, gods will rise and fall, and the universe itself will be forever reshaped.

Welcome.

Session Summaries

March 4, 2020 Session

Daniel Bove posted on Mar 08, 2020

The ancient dragon Hyperion is found captive in a magic shell powered by flickering rubies and guarded by fifteen foot tall fire creatures imprisoned behind ancient runes. And Cappen is there also due to their deal. What happens? The party attacks everything. At the same time.

. .
. .

session-recap

All of the other Session Summaries are also available.

Timeline of The Riding

Date	Event
Sixth Age
pre-600 BFE	The Elemental Age that fostered the origin stories of the world and gave rise to the deities of the known lands.
~600 BFE	The Primordial Battle that ended The Elemental Age (The Sixth Age) and marked the beginning of the The Seventh Age.
Seventh Age
~500 BFE	The Fall of Alluria, the Last Battle of Kithkaira, the beginning of the decline of the Kingdom of the Elves and the Empire of the Orcs.
~400 BFE	Arrival of humans in The Riding.
~300 BFE	Last appearance of Orcs and Elves in The Riding, perhaps as a result of the semi-mythical Treaty of Hammerstand.
1 AFE	The founding of the Empire of Polonia.
74 AFE	The Barons' War establishes the The Riding federation and elevates the Baron of Greenmouth to Lord of the Riding.
131 AFE	Beginning of the reign of Lord Willmuth III, last crowned Lord of the Riding.
137 AFE	The Dread Invasion and the occupation of The Riding by the Empire of Polonia.
~145 AFE	Establishment of The Resistance.
162 AFE	Campaign Begins
163 -164 AFE	The Upheaval of Nations and the fall of Highbridge to The Hate Incarnate.
167 AFE	Present Day

People

Cappen Varra

A bard with unmatched technical skill of unknown background. He has the patron /wiki/spaces/CAM/pages/371752989.

Hatori Bongo

The Old Man, the master of a cadre of Shadowy Assassins, and a confirmed Aspirant of Air.

Percy du Ramshead

A functionary with shifting fortunes working for the Southern Mercantile Company that originally managed caravans traveling between the cities of Highbridge and points further west.

Bonebreaker Dorokor

Bonebreaker Dorokor commands the unquestioning loyalty of her clan. She stands nearly seven feet tall and lifts her wicked greataxe, Wound, with ease. Her clan respects her leadership as well as her might. Dorokor is a crafty and strategic warrior. Her plots and schemes are sophisticated (for an orc).

Places

Black Forest

North of the Green River, the Black Forest is an unexplored area of dense forest, and serves as the source of myths and terrors from beyond the realm of civilization.

The Riding

A federation of cities and villages along the banks of the Green River and its tributaries stretching from the foothills of the Badcrag Mountains to the Forearc Basin. The Riding was traditionally under the loose rulership of the Lord of Greenmouth but is now occupied by the Empire of Polonia.

Caterwaul Run

A tributary of the Green River, running east to west through the Black Forest and sourced in the Badcrag Mountains.

Ancient Dominion of the Unending Lands

The Ancient Dominion, knowledge of which had long been lost, has reemerged in the last few years in the orcish lands located in the Badcrag Mountains, bordered on the west by by Darkstone and the Pillars of Krokus.

Organizations

Red Claw Tribe

They had been a tribe of moderate Orcs whose primary function appears to be high-level oversight of Darkstone. The tribe is prosperous and happy, and lives in uneasy peace with the Black Fang Tribe.

Black Fang Tribe

An evil, magical, militant, religious fanatical Orc tribe that is ascendant in the hierarchy of Orc tribes.

The Resistance

Originally formed as an underground resistance movement in the Riding that seeks to cast out the Empire of Polonia.

The Hate Incarnate

A religious sect dedicated to the worship of the ancient Elvish God Lathander. Having recently become militant, they have seized the city of Highbridge in pursuit of unknown goals. Their standard is a brown flag with a burning red sun.

History

The Upheaval of Nations

The period between 163 AFE and 164 AFE that resulted in the rise and fall of the influence of the Orcish and Polonian empires as well as the emergence of The Hate Incarnate.

The Barons' War

A campaign in 74 AFE in which a confederacy of cities along the lower Green River forced Highbridge to accept a change in which the previously existing suzerainty led by Greenmouth was replaced by a federation in which the Baron of Greenmouth was elevated to the Lord of the Riding.

Dread Invasion

The 137 AFE invasion of The Riding by the Legions of Polonia. The Riding was not prepared for an invasion and quickly fell to the Empire.

Mythology

Dragons

Mythological dragons and new creations alike have been discovered.

Treaty of Hammerstand

The mythological Treaty of Hammerstand is reported to have been signed by elves, orcs, and humans and is often sited as the event that signaled the end of orcish and elvish involvment in The Riding during the Seventh Age.

The Last Days of the Elves

A recounting of the events preceding and succeeding the final large scale battle between the Elves and the Orcs at the dawn of the Seventh Age.

The Seventh Age

The current age that is coming to a close. It differs from previous ages due to presence of widespread agriculture. It begins in approximately 600 BFE.

Pantheons

Krokus

An entity that is highly venerated by the Orcs in Darkstone and perhaps deeper in Orcish territories. It is uncertain whether he is a god, a hero from ancient times, or a living entity that continues to hold sway over the Orcs.

Tiamat

The official state religion of the Empire of Polonia is devoted to the worship of Tiamat.

Amaunator

The Riding God of the Sun. He is aspected by a Pegasus and flies through the sky, shining as the sun.

Cyndor

The Riding God of Grasslands aspected as a Hippocentaur. As grasslands are the uncivilized precedent to civilized cultivated lands, he is often portrayed as a counterbalance to civilizing efforts.

Labelled Content

Recent Updates