Quests Map

The Legacy Wars
Wars rage across three worlds, consuming manpower and attention, even as the greatest threat in all the Void moves ever-closer to Creation. Each war is deadly necessary, either the defense of sovereign order or the strides to establish new order, sanctified by personal liberty, varied religion, royal heritage or sacred oath. These terrestrial and planar matters MUST be put to rest if the worlds are to stand united against the coming Devourer.


I. The War of Three Mountains (Saviors, Dark Three)
The Holy Nors Empire wages war against the Northern Alliance, a union of three northern nations: Saspien, Atha and Etheria. They bear the standard of three mountains, black, white and gold, as befits their regions and capitals. Though vastly out-manned and dwarfed in resources, the tenacious trio has matched the enemy for nearly five months. However one slip could see the end of the free north and the emperor’s near-total domination of Othyr.

A. Opposing the Overmind (Saviors, Active): In their many iterations, the Saviors have contributed greatly to the opposition of Emperor Endymion Norson. Escaping the carnival meant to deliver them to a distillery was first and foremost (denying the emperor potent essence elixirs), their salvaging of the rightful royal bloodline (not in preserving Frederick, gods rest his soul, but in little Bella), their rescue of Percival and Bremen Wright (whose parents are staunchly opposed to the Nors’ current agenda), supplanting Mossel’s overseer with a changeling double more sympathetic to the fey and the people (Tyvis), helping liberate the Free Guilds of Edmark (weakening the Nors Consortiums and inspiring new opposition in the Heartland’s largest port), rescuing High Priestess Finduilas Oranar (denying the emperor the most potent of essence elixirs, not to mention saving one of the key leaders of the Northern Alliance), dismantling Sodden Hold (taking out an important distillery), uncovering the emperor’s many abuses of Anubian technology and the intent to create an ambrosia elixir, discovering log books and journals with which to track down his other puppets (currently used by Anita), and reassembling Huron’s orb to track imperial-controlled Anubian ships (used by Narra).

Current Status: Dismantling the Imperial Gulag will be the harshest blow yet to the emperor and the Holy Nors war machine, depriving the empire of its ability to reprogram enemies into allies!


B. Imperial Institutions (Saviors, Active): The emperor did not gain his position by himself (unless there are a LOT of puppets). He founded and took control of various imperial institutions in order to solidify his vast empire, institutions which allow things to run and could potentially be subverted in order to weaken him.

1. The Sons and Daughters of Nor: The lowest rung of the emperor’s authority, but the most crucial in getting Endymion to his current seat, the Sons and Daughters of Nor are an empire-wide militia of diehard loyalists with varying degrees of military training and outfitting. Most are simply angry peasants armed with sharpened farm tools and painted in the traditional reds, whether pigs’ blood or more expensive dye, and they usually convene in what are called ‘Red Lodges’. General Gauthier Garvyn heads the grassroots army, a loyal follower of Endymion Norson since his early political days and one of the militia’s truly formidable and well-equipped warriors. It seems the closer you get to the capital, the more impressive their combat prowess.

Material from the Sodden Hold distillery and an account from the late Dr. Hemmler revealed the emperor and his torturer-scientists have perfected a method of reprogramming the human mind, turning even the staunchest opponent into the most devote loyalist (see Imperial Gulag). Many of these people are then inducted into the Sons and Daughters, cruel twists of fate if ever there were.

2. The Holy Inquisition: Just after Endymion took power, he fought a two year cold war against the noble houses resistant to the imperial theocracy. He had need of a police force with authority over all others, even nobility: investigators, torturers, incorruptible agents with cunning and menace to root out the enemy wherever they hid. Their task expanded in later years to hunting mages, foreign clergy and free elves, a mission worth breeding the insipid Magehounds. They’ve towers in every major Nors city, headed by Grand Inquisitors, and smaller towns and villages are overseen by more regional Inquisitor Governors. Their leader, dubbed by the peasantry ‘The Most Feared Man in the Heartlands’, is the sadistic and merciless Divine Inquisitor Volker, second only to the emperor himself.

Fighting through Sodden Hold revealed the inquisitors possessed psionic powers akin to Narra’s, summoning bolts of force and, with the aid of orium and crystals, bending wills. They certainly weren’t born this way, suggesting perhaps another Anubian influence...

3. The Church of Nor: Endymion was once Archbishop of the Church of Nor and uses notions of divine right and Nor’s true mission to justify his rule to the people. The Sons and Daughters of Nor are built upon his vow of following God’s intended course, the unification of all human races and the empowerment of mankind (taken very literally to omit all other races and, more recently, their foreign magics and religions). The Church acts as the mouthpiece of the emperor, relaying his propaganda and lies to the greater populace, keeping them succored and content with news befitting their idealized empire. The more rural churches are headed by a pastor or chaplain, each city by a bishop (in a cathedral dedicated to one of the God King’s legendary companions turned modern-day saints), and the capital by the Archbishop Bern Martel.

4. The Imperial Dragoons: The turning point in Endymion’s coup came with the conversion of the ancient red dragon Yathnoc. When such an old, powerful and proud creature observed the new emperor’s absolute authority as bestowed by God, many were convinced Endymion was truly chosen. Yet the people greatly feared the looming presence of the firewyrm and his kin in the Heartland, spurring the creation of the Imperial Dragoons, dragonrider knights epitomizing the miracle of a unified Norian faith. The dragoons quickly grew in popularity, becoming celebrities and symbols of the renewed glory of the empire. Yathnoc, for his part, chose to assume the guise of a man for much of the last two decades, revealing his five-hundred-foot presence only when absolutely necessary. Imperial Dragoons lair at Redcliffe, but nest bases in each of the major cities, waypoints throughout empire-wide patrols.

Yathnoc chose to reveal his awesome scale during the burning of Crowperch Estates and the fall of the over-lived Kasimir Bertrum. The Hand of Doom was annihilated in the process, caught totally by surprise and suggesting betrayal from within. Since the holocaust, the snake Ris-Radi, a devote Tenebrian, has ousted the drow of Kauth (the birthplace of the Hand of Doom) and taken the city for the dark god (and by implied extension, the Ordo). With the revelation Tenebrous is, in fact, the shadow wyrm Taras, could there be some draconic agenda which was served in all this? The theory is only further bolstered after having witnessed Yathnoc lifting the two purple wyrmlings, Marzonn and Zulthanza, during the fires- only for Izzy to die by Zulthanza’s wrath over a year later (somehow aged to a powerful adult, to boot) in a hidden Ordo base.

5. The Consortiums: Economic backbone of the empire, five major conglomerates control the essential resources, guilds and trade needed to keep things running, divided by Lumber, Iron, Stone, Wheat, and Gold. They’ve offices and facilities spanning the continent, each managed by an overseer, who then reports to a regional trade baron. The Consortiums are known for their poor working conditions, brutal schedules and meager pay, especially during war time (so far the whole of Endymion’s 17 year reign). The heads of the Consortiums, known formally as tycoons, grow richest from such periods of unrest, when their products are needed most and excuses like patriotism, hatred and fear allow for increased, affordable production. As such, the emperor and the tycoons share a mutual respect and maintain a strong alliance.

a. Citadel: The occupied city-state of Citadel is a strange extension of the Consortiums, worked by native dwarves and ruled by their Nors-aligned Queen Moraig, but supervised and assisted by overseers of Iron, Stone and Gold. The trade baron of Citadel is even moving for the creation of a sixth Consortium, one concerned entirely with the production and distribution of magic items (which the dwarves provide the Holy Nors exclusively). It is a vital operation, warranting consideration by the emperor.

b. Edmark: With the Saviors’ aid, the dissatisfied guilds of Edmark, tired of the Consortiums’ massive takes and tight control, rebelled, forming the Free Guilds and assembling their members as an army, which waged war against the local street gangs (the Consortium’s paid muscle). Their victory ousted Consortium leadership from the city and abolished the gangs, leaving guilds and merchants to operate as they please for the immediate future in a port vital to imperial operations (and containing the majority of the interior navy). Surprisingly, the local admiral supports the move, as does the noble house of Wright, undermining the will of the appointed baroness and by extension the emperor. This very tenuous situation could lead to cessation from the empire if compromise is not found soon. In the meantime, Edmark has become a haven for free thinkers, revolutionaries, and foreign spies and diplomats.


C. The Resistance (Saviors, Passive): Kaylan Gloriandel has entered the lands of her youth, liberating her enslaved kin one manor, one city, one region at a time, spreading the word of Kalinda and gathering the once-favored children of the sun. Meanwhile, Anita D’Artigo musters the scattered enemies of the empire as the Scarlet Blade, utilizing the journal claimed in Sodden Hold to systematically wipe out the emperor’s well-placed puppets.

Current Status: Two women create a resistance force capable of aiding the Northern Alliance in the war against the Holy Nors, drawing from freed Gloriandelines, The People’s Resistance of Tolerna and Liscar (Pirates), Queen Tasha’s Redbeards, and the Wolves of Jiwar.


D. The Coup (Dark Three, Active): Preventing the coup of King Dante Il’spana will ensure the Northern Alliance retains a third of its power. Failure will surely result in the collapse of the northern front and an inevitable Nors victory.

Current Status: The Dark Three steal themselves in Cadavera before plunging back into Saspien to finish their business with its many conspirators, all the while the Nors vanguard moves closer to the walls and with them the potential for takeover.

1. Lastlight: The Holy Nors vanguard has landed in the village of Lastlight, conquered and made base camp, and now facilitates hundreds, even thousands, of troops who fan across the Saspish Vale and seek to make ready a proper siege on Saspien. They are aided by native Valemen who’ve taken oaths to Saint Gormite, patron of vampire hunters. A similar story can be told in the port city of Tepest, facing constant bombardment and blocking vital shipping lanes connecting Saspien from its kith in Tir’buk.

2. The Great Vampire Conspiracy: Multiple factions across Saspien are working in accordance with one another to see King Dante removed, what the party is certain includes the following persons: Sire Kalfar al’Zareef, Lord Davos Savrano, Marquess Olivianna Ruiz-Lorein, and maybe even Queen Victoria Il’spana herself. Where does the Ordo Templi Nox fit into this insidious scheme?


E. Izolda Rising (Dark Three, Passive): Enabling Drelzna von Zarovich to unite the errant factions of Tsojcanth will eventually lead to the repopulation of Izolda, adding another political player to the Othyrian mix, one undoubtedly opposed to Nors subjugation and with monstrous forces enough to defend itself.

Current Status: The Vampire Queen and her wretched adviser consolidate power and begin initial steps to fortify Tsojcanth City and rebuild Izolda. A new nation forms.

1. Izoldanian Ambassadors (Isabella, Diana): Granddaughters in blood and adopted were chosen by Drelzna to be her ambassadors to the new world, heralding the second coming of Izolda. No doubt these titles hold much clout in the right circles.


F. Clandash Reborn (Dark Three, Passive): Retrieval of the Crown Jewel of Clandash has enabled the duergar priestess Helzina to raise herself as queen, uniting the vying clans of the extreme east into a new political power. A new city-state has risen.

Current Status: The deurgar queen and her retinue currently fortify their underground metropolis. A new city-state forms.

1. Clandashi Alliance (Renato): Twas Renato’s aid saw the return of the crown jewel and Heliza’s eventual rise to power as priest-queen. The duergar may be a miserly and miserable people, but they don’t forget a debt. Renato has a powerful ally of the priest-queen and her brothers Doorbac and Climrandan.

II. The Wild War (Saviors)
For thousands of years the war has raged, demons, devils, dragons and faerie lords vying for control in the fractured kingdoms of the fey. All have failed to tame the hearts and minds of the mercurial People for very long... until now. In the past twenty years, a being known as the Green God, Chernobog, has united an impossible number of clans and kingdoms under his religion, a host not seen in the Wild since the days of the Seelie Court. All that stands between him and total dominion are pockets of native resistance, soon to be crushed for their lack of vision, and the retreating forces of the green ancient Reedthagn, whose only remaining trump rests in the alien Tesseract with its unknowable potential.

A. Wild and Free (Active): The Saviors have fought for the best interests of the fey since their earliest inception, beginning with the liberation of the savanna gnomes at Tifana, joining the Vergers (an army of gnomes, satyrs, rheen, and cu sidhe) to defeat the demon overlord Alkek’uma, healing the Savanna by removing the dread demonhead Blight, and more recently in the efforts to free Annwn and Silverwood Kingdom from the threat of both the Autumn Court (and by extension the Green God) and the reawakened Nidhogg Nagar.

1. Birthright (Arinew): Prince Arinew seeks his mother’s throne and rulership of the floundering Summer Court in order to lead his people to freedom and bolster the independent fey kingdoms and Primal forces against the Green God.

Current Status: Returning to Eglantine with Nidhogg’s head will have spared Glasir a horrid fate and usher in the rule of Prince Arinew, the first major steps in reestablishing the Summer Court.

a. Nidhogg Nagar: The ancient Voidborn worm has awoken for unknown reasons, inflicting terrible harm upon the elder tree Glasir and spawning all manner of aberrant horror. If the Summer Court is ever to gather itself, Nidhogg must be vanquished. The return to Eglantine with news of such a beast’s demise (or much more dramatically dragging its severed head) would surely help Prince Arinew’s cause.

b. The Autumn Court: The autumn fey are ruled by the Queen of Fallen Leaves, treacherous sister of the late Queen of Summer (Arinew’s aunt and Gliadim’s mother). They hold Annwn, including the Silverwood, in Chernobog’s name. If the realm is to be reclaimed, these cold, withering creatures must be defeated. Prince Arinew needs an army for such a thing, and subsequently a unified and motivated Summer Court.

i. The sword of the king, known to all Eglantians as Solstice, is a blade worthy of their future monarch, possessing incredible enchantments which bolster whole armies. In Arinew’s hand, his forces would stand a chance against the superior numbers of the opposing court (and so would his allies against the Green God). There is just one tiny problem, the sword has been lost for the last eighteen years.

ii. The crown of the queen is a powerful symbol of fey authority, possessed of kingdom-spanning powers granting prosperity and abundance to those under the monarch’s rule. Currently worn by the Queen of Fallen Leaves, upon Arinew’s brow it could help sustain a summer resurgence and inspire wider movements against Chernobog.


B. The Ancient Green (Active): Reedthagn is in the final stages of losing the Wild War, having retreated to the safety of the Tesseract, followed by what remains of his kobold hordes and loyal brood. Yet underestimating a cornered dragon, especially one so conniving, possessing an alien artifact capable of time travel, would be a grievous error.

1. Reedthagn’s Reckoning (Rogar): Your father has much to answer for, and by your honor you will see that he does so, to whatever end.


C. Perennial Alliances (Passive): Allies have been made across the Wild, who fight against the all-consuming faith of the Green God. Among them are the Vergers and Rogar’s brother Ezark.

Current Status: The Vergers fight a losing battle against the Green God’s forces on the Savanna. They are in desperate need of aid, the kind a reestablished Summer Court could offer. Meanwhile, Ezark reassembles his errant troops in northern Annwn for an anticipated strike against the Autumn Court.

1. The Elder Grove: More than just Glasir stands in Annwn, two trees within distant sight, and another yet beyond it. Just as Eglantine stands beneath the shade of the silver yew, so other cities, perhaps other courts, exist beneath its kin. All could potentially be made allies.

a. The Golden Oak

b. The Black Wormwood

c. The Ivory Birch

2. Bonds of Blood (Rogar): Seek further aid from your errant brothers and sisters, or kill them and usurp their power and resources.

a. Ezark Thagnbrood, ally; 1000 troops in the north of Annwn

III. The Darakaani Invasion (The Dark Three)
The Lich King has campaigned across Cadavera for the last several decades, conquering domain after domain, mounting darklordships upon himself with unrelenting fervor. From his throne country Darakaan, largest and northern-most on the continent, his armies have swept south to claim Lamordia, Dementlien, Falkovnia, Zhukara, Viktal and Arak. He currently battles for dominion of Nova Vaasa, though his Kargat agents have been seen as far south as Barovia and Assassin’s Vale.

A. The Lich King (Active): Azalin Rex is the mastermind behind all the military woes facing Cadavera and its southern countries. He’s the Darklord of seven domains, a creature of immeasurable power, knowledge and resources, rumored to be ten-thousand years old. He commands military forces ten times that of any other domain, including a sinister secret police force known as the Kargat.

1. A Timeless Love (Diana): Via Thedra Aranax’s confession and knowledge of the String of Fate about Diana’s neck, the Lich King has been revealed as Christopher Blackwing, the commander of the spellswords in ancient Spelltower. He loved Diana once, and perhaps still does, given the Kargat’s adamant search for the girl.


B. Strahd Lives! (Active): Only one Darklord of Barovia epitomized strength, order and menace: Count Strahd. Despite his death five years ago, he has returned to claim darklordship of the domain. Is that really such a bad thing, considering he was the one Cadaveran capable of holding Azalin at bay with like magics, cunning and will?

Current Status: Strahd has returned and taken over Castle Ravenloft once more. What that bodes for the future of the country in the shadow of Darakaan remains to be seen.


C. Points of Light (Passive): Strahd’s defeat five years ago marked a period of confusion in a historically tyrannical domain and allowed for a shuffling of power, first to Mara and the corrupt Lightbringers, then the overzealous Children of Light headed by Zarephath the Fallen (with the blessings of Templar Giers Oranar), and ultimately the good-natured Raven Knights, commanded by Lady Ashlyn D’Flores under the advisement of the united burgomeisters. In cooperation with the Ravens, native Kalindians have taken residence in the Temple of the Wheel, upon the highest peak of the Balinok Mountains, where they maintain an artificial day-night cycle thanks to superior engineering and the artifact Sunsword.

Current Status: The Ravens are in the process of building keeps across Barovia, which they call Roosts, and are mobilizing the nation’s first real army, one loyal to the people. The last remnants of the Children of Light return to Etheria or join the new order under Gertruda to see the Sunsword safely kept.

IV. The End of All Things (Saviors, Dark Three)



Anubian Legacy
The ancient remnants of alien technology belonging to the extra-dimensional beings known as the Anubians have influenced Othyr in unexpected and mostly detrimental ways. Ambitious and well-informed individuals throughout history have sought to abuse the awesome powers of these ships and devices with varying degrees of devastation.


I. Tesseract (Saviors)
The massive, jade hypercube, over a mile high and wide, sits upon the summit of Highmist Mountain in the center of the Wild. Lair of the green ancient Reedthagn and stronghold for his kobold hordes, Diana also uncovered its dormant ability to fold time and space. No telling what other powers it possesses, or how they might affect the Legacy Wars.


II. Planar Nexus (The Dark Three)
The onyx octahedron levitates above a black lake in the depths of the Underdark, at the very bottom of the Stygian Chasm. Though its time-traveling enablers are beyond repair, it still proves capable of teleporting subjects anywhere in the universe, and was used by the Dark Three to return to Barovia after the events in Tsojcanth.

It is normally guarded by Derro worshipers of the Outer God Umrat-Tawil, but when the party passed through the mad dwarves had already been slaughtered by an eager Pazuzu, who used the ship’s core to teleport to his layer of the Abyss.


III. Imperial Gulag [Facility Beta] (Saviors)
The crystal hendecachoron originally discovered by the emperor in his youth now sails the planes along secret flight paths, acting as a high-security jail containing notable imperial prisoners and dissidents, as well a distillery, and ample laboratories and operating rooms. Here in-mates are experimented on, and most often reprogrammed, a function the emperor put to use very early on in his career in order to assume control of the Heartland and the means by which he initiated the Sons of Nor movement and overthrew the thousand-year-old monarchy. He continues to this day, turning his most dangerous enemies into his most loyal followers, solidifying his absolute authority.

A. Wrongfully Accused (Tyvis): Liberate your father and all the other wrongfully accused slated for reprogramming, if it isn’t too late already. Dismantle the horrific facilities which threaten the free will of all men and stem the flow of Endymion’s fanatic followers.

Planar Hearts
Sentient artifacts of near-limitless potential, possessing the power and essence of each of the planes, they are sought after by some of the most powerful beings in existence for purposes largely nefarious. Who made them? What is their true purpose? Not even they can rightly say, but undoubtedly they play an important role in events that will shape the future.


I. Heart Trouble (Saviors, Dark Three)
Since their discovery, the Hearts have proven little else but trouble, painting targets on the backs of all who possess them, but also providing vast powers accessible only through child-like consciousnesses. Yet Astralheart warned not to be fooled by these facades, for each Heart is interested only in the driving passions of its plane.

A. Strangeheart (Diana): A fist-sized, smooth purple amethyst tied intimately with the Void, whose low hum and unnatural radiance repels insects and panics animals. It has a decidedly male personality, a five-year-old vampire dressed for a funeral, cruel and spoiled. He was named Tiberius by the one who woke him: Diana. He has an insatiable appetite, grown in recent months, served by black holes and thrashing tentacles. The gem was passed down to Diana from her mother, set in a belt worn by the sorceress. He is a bitter enemy of the Astralheart, who represents the gulf of Creation which grates against the Void.


B. Astralheart (Renato): Self-named Astralea, Renato’s defense of her well-being inspired her to manifest as an eleven-year-old deva with ivory skin and delicate features. She speaks to him through telepathy and visions, and appears, thus far, a gentle and guiding force, one linked closely to water and movement, like the Astral Sea. She also displayed the ability to resurrect and, even more miraculous, wash souls of their sins. She is a bitter enemy of the Strangeheart and normally appears a foggy glass sphere hung from a thin platinum chain.


C. Worldheart (Drelzna von Zarovich): While its personality has yet to be revealed, the girls were able to identify the swirling gem of green, white and blue embedded into Drelzna’s sarcophagus as a Heart. Renato appealed to it on the way out of the Sanctum Maleficum, hoping to coax it into his possession, with no luck.


D. Quakeheart (Jeda): A fist-sized, unworked orange citrine marked with spurts of earth and other fused ores tied intimately with the Elemental Maelstrom. It has a decidedly female personality, an angry, adolescent orc. She was named Niza by the one who woke her: Relic. She was the original gem designed to function with Relic's mainframe. Her luster inspires intense emotions in those around her, though, and began to turn the metal man into something much more war-like. The gem was stolen at the Battle of the Mills, its exact whereabouts unknown.


E. Blackheart (Jeda): A fist-sized piece of smooth obsidian tied intimately with Cadavera. It has a decidedly female personality which calls itself Adej, the tiefling shadow of the one who woke her: Jeda. She is one of a series of planar gems possessing untold powers, including shadow conjuration and nightmare visions. Last seen with Jeda, and used during Kaylan and Selja's abductions and subsequent rapes. Whereabouts unknown.


F. Hellheart (???): A fist-sized, faceted ruby tied intimately with Hell. It has a decidedly female personality, a little girl in black lace with blood-red curls named Cinell by the one who woke her: Tyvis. The two had quite a falling out after she immolated some innocent nurses, proving a sin-eating generator of fire and darkness and a natural manipulator. After her rejection by the druid, she promised revenge and fled.


G. Pureheart (Thamior): A faceted diamond tied intimately with Heaven, small enough to be set into a golden ring. It has a decidedly female personality, unnamed and yet to manifest when last the party saw her keeper: Thamior. The gem was given as a gift from Percival Wright, claimed to have once belonged to his father before him.


H. Cagedheart (Selja): Initially a large, jade spurt some two feet tall tied intimately with the prison plane Carceri. It has a decidedly male personality who prefers to remain in gem form, utilizing a root-woven chassis for mobility. He was given to the druid Selja by a time-jaunted treant on its deathbed, insistent someone care for the little creature called Dibs. The two became bosom friends and travel to this day, Dibs proving the only Heart thus far able to physically grow with age and practice. He is now a five-foot jade spurt in a very humanoid root ‘mech’.


I. Wildheart (Dark One): A fist-sized emerald tied intimately with the Wild, woken by Portia, it eventually proved to have a male personality, that of a soft-spoken, extraordinarily-green boggart around sixteen or so. He possesses many abilities, including plant manipulation, animal summoning and rudimentary healing. He also acts like a key to enter and exit the Wild. The gem led a suicidal charge and saved the group from the Dark One outside Darling. He hasn't been seen since...

Current Status: The Hearts remain scattered throughout the worlds, a mystery to the party despite months, even years, spent with them.

II. The Watcher (Saviors, Dark Three): Ezariel, the archangel charged with keeping the Hearts locked away in a celestial vault of nine times nine folded dimensions, was in self-imposed exile as he searched for the gems. He explained their origins were largely a mystery even to Heaven, but their planar power was clear enough, as was their potential for abuse, spurring the angels to gather and seal them away in the first place. Yet Portia appealed to his compassionate nature, insisting it was wrong to imprison the Hearts now that they’d proven sentient. He agreed, and decided to watch over them and prevent their misuse to the best of his abilities, despite the idea he would never be able to return home.

Current Status: Ezariel was last seen running interference for the party as they escaped Darling, but events in Edmark showed he kept his word returning Percy, Bremen and the orphans back home.


III. Dark One (Saviors, Dark Three): Who or what is the Dark One beyond a being of shadow and wind, the tenacious hunter of the Hearts and enemy of the archangel Ezariel? Where does its allegiance lie, and what are its true motives? Those who’ve encountered it before have a queasy feeling they’ll find out sooner or later...

Current Status: The Dark One has not been seen since the Wildheart valiantly sacrificed itself to see Portia and the rest of her friends safely to Darling. One can only assume it continues its hunt for Hearts.


IV. Dazeen the Uniter (Saviors): While Kaylan was held captive by Ghisidhran underneath Blackdelve Asylum, he spoke of the Gloriandeline prince Dazeen, kept in a tomb only kin could open, being the key to uniting the Hearts. Entering the tomb revealed the prince was not some decrepit mummy, but young and handsome, sleeping in a state of suspended animation for some uncertain event and protected by a radiant barrier that would disintegrate those not of royal elven blood. Kaylan received a vision describing how three magic items could be used to wake him, two rings and a circlet, which she largely kept to herself, unsure whether or not waking her uncle was in the best interests of the worlds.



Outer Gods
As the New Gods sleep, powerful beings claiming divinity and garnering worship have sprung up across the planes, threatening to tear down the existing pantheon and achieve true apotheosis.


I. The Green God (Saviors)
Worshipped as the god of fey and the Wild, he is largely recognized as a being encompassing all that is powerful and dangerous in Nature, without any of its beauty or vulnerability. It is that sort of tenacity and absolutism that has drawn so many loyal fey, who recognize him as an unstoppable juggernaut, a force of nature that will rid the Wild of all other usurpers, crush the weak kingdoms resistant to change, and bring about a new empire.

His loyal chaplains and cult leaders are given the ‘Green Gift’, a spore which links them, sharing thoughts and knowledge. His loyal hosts number most fey species and several faerie lords, including the centaur tribes and the Courts of Autumn and Winter.

A. Opposing the False God (Active): The Green God has been an enemy of the party since its first incarnation, and they’ve fought his machinations beginning with the defeat of the Spirit of Winter in the isolated Nors community of Angern, and by claiming the Wildheart before it could be used against Othyr. Later they slew the dragon convert Ghisidran and banished Chernobog’s cult beneath Provia’s Blackdelve Asylum, only to learn from their then-employer Reedthagn that the Green God’s identity was none other than Sev Torban, Archdruid of the North.

Current Status: The Saviors fight on behalf of Prince Arinew and the Summer Court, opposing Chernobog’s loyal Autumn Court.

1. The Last Archdruid (Tyvis): Yggdrasil confirmed the Green God was in fact Sev Torban, fallen Archdruid of the North, whose increasing paranoia post-Demon War led him to assume the mantle of Chernobog and mobilize the errant fey into a force meant to protect Creation from the evils which plague it. His perception of what was and wasn’t evil drastically altered over the years, until he lost himself in his creation. He possesses four of the five Raiment Lordanae and potentially the Shields of the Archwardens.

2. The Black Forest Offensive (Passive): The Green God has made recent moves to oppose the Holy Nors, particularly in the Black Forest region of the Heartlands. Suffused with primal energy, it is the easiest point to cross over from the Wild to Othyr. With such elaborate logging and settling efforts, it isn’t difficult to incite the fey who cross over or recruit what few faerie natives endure. The resulting attacks target all humans, the guilty and innocent alike, serving to dismantle enemy operations, but at too high a cost.

The Archdruid of the Heartlands managed to ease tensions some by placing the changeling Quentin in the late overseer’s position, easing logging operations as much as possible without drawing the attention of the regional trade baron, and at the same time working to appease the fey and diffuse the Green God’s rabble-rousing.

II. Tenebrous (Dark Three)
Worshipped as the god of darkness and secrets, his forms are many, tailored to suit the local cults which offer souls and ancient knowledge in his name. To some he is a demonic prince, others a beautiful drow or menacing vampire. His goals are as mysterious as his visages, though he’s proven a unifying force for many of the darker creatures of the worlds.

Perhaps the fastest-growing of the outer religions, his presence is felt throughout the Underdark, as well as in Cadavera and wherever else his loyal adherents dwell, numbering the fearsome Ordo Templi Nox and splinter groups of drow, dragons and vampires.

A. The Face in the Darkness: Demise and, more so, Zulthanza substantiated that Tenebrous is really the last surviving shadow dragon in Creation, Taras, nemesis to the forces of light since the late Demon War. His whereabouts have remained a mystery to even the most accomplished Othyrians, King Matthias included, but his draconic proxies, the Ordo, and his supplicants in Kauth make his influence painfully felt.


B. Ordo Templi Nox: Creation’s most accomplished assassins, traditionally neutral and dedicated to the sanctity of death and balance, have adopted Tenebrous as a religious figure to increase their influence and power. No longer will they serve death through contracts, rather master it by deciding the hits themselves. Their bases now support a burgeoning cult which corrupts every murder with his dark agenda and undermines the Ordo’s original purpose.

1. Temples of the Night: Ordo congregate in temples of the night situated in psuedo-shadow pockets half-way between the native plane and a place of utter dark, perhaps Cadavera, perhaps the Void. So long as one endures, the Ordo endure.

a. Barovian Temple of the Night (complete, converted to Gilda): The Ordo headquarters in Barovia provided a foothold in southern Cadavera to coordinate certain important hits (like the mark on Angelique) and spread the Tenebrian faith.

b. Othyrian Temple of the Night: The Ordo headquarters on Othyr provides the means for orchestrating important deaths across the whole of the continent. Taking it out will purge the order from Othyr, a devastating blow to their power structure.

i. Shadow Doors connect the Othyrian Temple of the Night to the city of Saspien, and by extension Othyr. Locking them by way of eldritch keys prevents anyone from passing through.

aa. Circus of Shadows has been locked, yet the shady alleyways have reverted back under Ordo control in the wake of Harnok’s murder.

bb. Dark Temple has been locked, though the temple was never cleared or fortified.

cc. Black Orchard

dd. Lost Halls

ee. Night Gallery

ff. Bleak Academy

gg. Vault of Souls


2. The Shadow Cabinet: The deadliest assassins in all the worlds comprise the ruling body of the Ordo Templi Nox. You will have to kill or defeat all of these Lords of the Dark to ever truly be safe or in control. Though their identities are kept secret, and similarly their whereabouts, there are several very good candidates known to you.

a. Demise: The mistress of all drow assassins and a master killer, she was encountered in the dark elven haunts beneath Saspien’s ruins, a very likely candidate for a Lord of the Dark.

3. Lord Giovanni Ruiz (Renato): Save your father from the soul-killing Ninety-Nine Cuts. Rumors hold he’s kept somewhere in the Othyrian Temple of the Night, in the horrid chambers of the Angel of Suffering.


C. Kauth: Tenebrians marshaled by the treacherous blackguard Ris-Radi now occupy the ancient drow city beneath the Black Forest. They’ve brought down the old temples and palaces, crafting the dark god’s mecca and a new subterranean power base. After the Hand’s defeat, many turned to the rising god, and the onyx city now teems with followers and resources. Their continued presence threatens Tsojcanth City, Delzoun, Izolda and the larger surface world.

1. Lady of Spiders: The presence of a spidery drow envoy amongst the Ordo was just a precursor. Demise mentioned a new player in the game of dark religion and death, an arachnid demon the likes of which has not been seen since the fall of Anansiel. She lairs in Kauth with the blessings of Tenebrous, having chosen the former royal prince of the debunk House Dredilith has her clandestine mate. Things are quickly shaping to her brutal liking.

III. Asmodeus (Dark Three)
Worshipped as the true god of Hell, his emergence from Gehenna has inspired many restless devils awaiting Hecate’s reawakening to convert and put their resources behind an active master. Still others join his cause in opposition of the other New Gods, whom they despise for their wretched morals and overarching goals of peace and harmony. He brings a notion of intelligence and strength, the menace of a master fiend, a tyrannical and undeniable order.

His most loyal are blessed with the Crown of Baator, an unseen right of rule which commands awe and allegiance from lesser-minded creatures.

A. Lord of the Nine: Who or what is Asmodeus? Where did he come from and how did he manage such power to cow some of the most powerful fiends in Hell. The secret could be the advantage needed to defeat him.


B. Cult of Asmodeus: Asmodeans are cunning and well-hidden, gorged like ticks in existing power structures directly or indirectly involved with Hecate’s church. Their goal, pursued through any number of shadowy means, is the transference of godhood from the Queen of Hell to the King.

Not even the Maidenmother Crone, Hecate’s own avatar, knows quite how extensive the cult has become, suffice to say it required the appointing of a new prophet to cull the herd.

1. Ribcage (complete): A second iteration of the Dark Three managed to undermine Asmodeus’ efforts in the planar purgatory of Ribcage, despite the hold he’d dug into the city. Slaying Flamen Pontifica, freeing Baron and, more importantly, dispelling Asmodeus’ Decree allowed Hecate’s forces to purge the heretics and reclaim the Temple of Darkest Secrets.

2. Saspien (Isabella): All is not well in Hecate’s Church of Delights. The seven sects have been subverted, and not all who claim faith truly possess it. It is up to the prophet to weed the true believers from the false and cleanse the goddess’s most expansive church on Othyr of the traitors who seek to topple it from within, be they vampire, tiefling, or devil.

3. The Living Cushion: A rolling sea of living flesh, fat and secretions comprises the Ring of Lust, Phlegethon, ruled by the transvestite titan Pequid. Among his most prized concubines and advisors is the Queen of the Succubi, Malcanthet, revealed an Asmodean and conspirator by the Maidenmother Crone. Already a sworn enemy of the Dark Three, she will have to be dealt with for Hecate’s church to ever truly be safe. Pray she is the only heretic in this ghastly pit. Pray this is the only ring harboring enemies.

4. Gehenna: Asmodeus is known to dwell somewhere in the horrific underworld Gehenna, Hell’s version of the Underdark. Its complex tunnels are haunted by things even devils fear, serving also as a protective weave about the black sun Nessus: Hecate’s known resting place.

IV. Umrat-Tawil (Dark Three)
Worshiped as the god of time and space, his holy symbol’s likeness is that of an Anubian head, leaving little mystery as to the identity of this outsider. Yet Umrat has made no moves against the New Gods and hasn’t reached out to followers beyond the derro, seemingly content to dwell in his dark ravine with his mad supplicants.

A. Delzoun: The derro of Delzoun, situated at the bottom of the Stygian Chasm, praise Umrat-Tawil as a benevolent force, one who raised them from the aberrant-haunted ruins ages ago in order to assist in maintaining his secrets. In the case of the Planar Nexus they failed, allowing Pazuzu and then the Dark Three to operate the damaged ship, but even that massacre cannot account for all the derro in the chasm, nor the lake and bridge be the extent of their city.

Personal Missions


The Saviors

Tyvis
Archdruid
The Heartland Circle
Restoring Balance

Arinew
King of the Silverwood

Narra
Origins

Kiri-Raina
Storm-Maker
Brothers and Sisters

Kiri-Auro
Storm-Maker
Brothers and Sisters

Rogar
Archwarden


II. The Dark Three

Renato
The Gilda
Assassin’s Vale

Isabella
Prophet of Hecate
Mommy Dearest

Diana
The Starry Maiden
Star Child
A Murdered Mother

NPCs

Kaylan
Anita
Relic
Giers
Thamior
Portia
Selja