Adventures in Volkrad/PlayersGuide

## Setting

Straddling the tropics is the Crusader Lands, an untamed land of warm savannahs, snow-capped mountains and steaming jungle. From Port Jiang, the crusader-Prince Medrash Yatoriz is feudal overlord to a multitude of squabbling fiefdoms. Guarding the eastern border is one of these fiefdoms, the County of Volkrad. On the northern coastline is the port city of L'Trel, the second largest settlement in the county. A few months ago, a great fire raged through the city, destroying much of it. After the devastation, the Volkrad army was brought in to restore order. Orschan raids from across the border increased in intensity, and a strange cult known as the Red Hand began to stir up trouble. To the immediate west of the County of Volkrad is the Elsir Vale, a sparsely populated region nestled between two mountain ranges. Soon, without warning, the Red Hand reveals its true nature. A massive Orschan army launches an invasion of the Elsir Vale, destroying the town of Drelin's Ferry, and then continues its march towards Brindol. Refugees flees the besieged cities, and somewhere, a small band of heroes goes behind enemy lines to find a way to stop the horde in its tracks. At the city of Brindol, the invasion is halted, and the horde's leaders subsequently killed. A peace of sort returns to the Crusader Lands, but the invasion's full consequences are yet to be determined.

## Timeline

Current Date: 4E:30.8.29

* c. 3800 years ago. The ancestors of the Old Davoreans settle in the region
* c. 2000 years ago. The ancestors of the Yexacans settle in the region.
* c. 800 years ago. The Holy Crusades against Orscha take place. The ultimate failure of the northern crusader kingdoms causes refugees to flee south. Port Jiang, the first of the crusader states, is founded.
* c. 635 years ago. The Golish Crusade between the crusaders and the goliaths of Gol ends in a stalemate.
* c. 620 years ago. The First Infernal Crusade. The armies of Dar Iblis are repelled from the crusader lands. c. 600 years ago. The settlement of Volkrad founded.
* c. 576 years ago. The Second Infernal Crusade. The war ends inconclusively.
* c. 521 years ago. The Third Infernal Crusade. After near-total defeat, the crusaders snatch victory from the jaws of defeat, thanks to the timely arrival of a mysterious platinum dragon saviour.
* c. 200 years ago. The Rhestilor Crusade. The crusader conquest of the Elsir Vale. L’Trel is founded.
* c. 30 years ago. The War of the Orcish Incursion and the Despoiler's War. After a punishing war against the Orschans, a rampaging Great Old One is forced back into its prison, but at great cost.
* c. 6 years ago. Fort Blackheart is beseiged by the knights of the Order of the Crux Caruillin and destroyed at massive cost of life to both invaders and defenders.
* c. 20 months ago. The Great Fire of L'Trel. The city of L'Trel is ravaged by fire, and soldiers are pulled back from the Orschan borderlands to deal with the crisis. The mysterious Red Hand appears in the chaos of the aftermath.
* c. 12 months ago. The Invasion of the Elsir Vale and the Massacre at Drelin’s Ferry. An army of Orschans linked to the Red Hand invades the Elsir Vale, destroying anything in its path. It continues towards Brindol, the only walled city between Overlook and Dennovar
* c. 10 months ago. The Battle of Brindol. The Red Hand invasion is halted.
* c. 9 months ago. A portal to the Far Realm is temporarily opened in L'Trel.

## Rule Variants

In this setting there is no **Common** language. For all intents and purposes, it will be replaced with Mokerian, which you may select instead of Common at character creation. **Infernal** and **Abyssal** are combined into one language, **Fiendish**. **Goblin** and **Orc** are combined into one language, **Orschan**. Available starting languages may include: Mokerian, Spluerian, Orschan, Half-Speak (Language of Halflings), Yexacan, Fiendish, Old Davorean, Dwarvish, Gnomish, Elvish and others, depending on the character.

We will be using the Gritty Realism rest variant. (see DMG)

Variant Human is allowed (see below).

## Character Abilities

Use Standard Point Buy (27) or Standard Array (15, 14, 13, 12, 10, 8)

## Character Races

Please peruse the below before selecting a race for your character.

### Local

If you wish to play a character local to the immediate area, considering choosing one of the below races.

#### Human

The local humans are divided into a variety of ethnic groups who have settled the lands in various waves: Mokerians, Spluerians and Crusaders are the most numerous and recent of the settlers. Old Davoreans and Yexacans lived in the region prior to the arrival of the more recent settlers, but now they have mostly been pushed to the south-eastern fringes, along the border with Austrulania. With regards to physical appearance, the ethnicities can be generalized into three main groups. **Thulians** (Crusaders), who are pale-skinned often with blue eyes and fair hair, **Olfolk** (Mokerians, Old Davoreans), who have darker skin and hair and brown or green eyes, and **Long-Yi** (Spluerians, Yexacans), who have tan skin and dark brown eyes.
For flavor, consider utilizing a name from the following name lists from XGTE3 for your character:

Naming Conventions
 Yexacan | Mesoamerican

You may select either Standard or Variant Human.

#### Dwarves (Hill)

Dwarves from the south (Hill) are often found in the region, working as mercenaries or miners. The dwarven city of Gardanhold is close to eastern border of the Crusader Lands.

Starting Languages: Dwarvish and Mokerian

#### Goliaths

Goliaths are native to the Golish Highlands, in the south eastern regions of the Crusader Lands. Throughout their long history they have been both enemy and ally to the more recent human settlers.

Starting Languages: Golish and Mokerian

#### Half-Orcs, Orcs, Goblins, Hobgoblins

Variously known as orcs, goblins, hobgoblins, or other terms, Orschans, are the physically powerful folk of the north, feared throughout the Crusader Lands. Though their appearance and demeanor can bring anxiety, they are not an unknown quantity to the local folk.

Starting Languages: Orschan and Mokerian

#### Gnome

(Rock) Gnomes, known as Gnaerrgan in their own tongue, are a familiar sight in the Crusader Lands, where they work as scholars and scribes.

Starting Languages: Gnomish and Mokerian

#### Elves (Wood)

The wild elves of the forest have a mixed relationship with the settled folk. Though some are friendly, even to the point of mixing in the human settlements, others are isolationist and xenophobic, resenting human encroachment on their land.

Starting Languages: Elvish and Mokerian

#### Half-Elves

The mixed children of humans and elves can be found throughout the region, the result of pairings of wood elves and humans. Some are descended from establish half-elf communities that are centuries old.

Starting Languages: Mokerian

#### Halflings (Lightfoot)

Halflings (also known as Hsien) are well known in the Crusader Lands, and live amongside humans.

Starting Languages: Half-Speak and Mokerian

#### Tiefling

Somewhere in the jungles of Austrulania lies the accursed city of Dar Iblis, the target of multiple Fiendish Crusades. In recent decades refugees from this place, who call themselves tieflings, have fled to the crusader lands.

Starting Languages: Mokerian

### Outlander

These are generally races that do not exist in large numbers in the region but are familiar enough that they are recognizable and not considered too remarkable by the inhabitants.

#### Humans (Other)

Humans from many nations are occasionally seen in the region.

Outlander Humans must select the Standard Human build.

#### Dwarves (Mountain)

Dwarves from the north (Mountain) are often found in the region.

#### Elves (High)

The more civilized cousins of the wood elves have been spotted occasionally in the region. The nearest population centre is Aderilund, far to the north.

#### Halflings (Stout)

Halflings from distant Tempest are different in culture and appearance to those native to the Crusader Lands.

### Exotic

These are the races that, though available to play, are exotic and rarely (or never) seen in the region. You will be working with your DM to come up with a background that will support the presence of your character in the region.

* Genasi
* Lizardfolk
* Dragonborn
* Tabaxi
* Aasimar
* Tortle

Other races will be approved on a case by case basis.

## Character Class

Any class/subclass combination from any of the official sources.

## Religion

The setting focuses more on faith traditions and religion than individual gods. Most religious characters will follow a religion rather than a patron god. The gods themselves are distant, and rarely speak directly to their followers. The question of whether they exist or not is an open question.

**Mokerianism** is an umbrella term for the religious beliefs of the Mokerian people. They are polytheistic, revering a mother goddess that call the Red Lady, along with her consorts, Khor and Talas, and children, including Idreah, goddess of the sea.

**Tengoku Seifu** is the Spluerian name for their faith, an ancient creed about a structured and ordered universe, presided over by the Celestial Emperor and the Celestial Bureaucracy. It is also followed by the halfling population.

The **Church of Ralom** is the most prominent crusader faith. It worships a trio of gods, the Sun King, a father deity associated with the “Unconquerable Sun”, his consort, the Silver Lady, a mother goddess linked to the stars and the moon, and their son, the Divine Martyr, a warrior god of self-sacrifice and noble causes.

The **Platinum Faith** is relatively recent compared to other faiths, based on the veneration of the Platinum Dragon, a legendary creature that appeared during the pivotal moment of the Third Infernal Crusade, turning a disastrous defeat for the crusader forces into a startling victory.

Other faiths include the deistic **Celestial Architects**, followed by gnomes, and the **Transcendent Court**, the elven religion based on ancestor worship.

## Experience and Levelling

Experience will be awarded via normal XP awards. Level ups can occur with long rests