Adventures Handbook

# Introduction

Congratulations! You have been chosen as an adventurer! This is not a profession to be taken upon lightly or easily as a person of power must have seen potential in you and declared you to be worthy of entering into the adventurers’ bargain. Examples of such individuals are powerful mages, clerics, oracles, or seers. You have been chosen for a reason and only the best of the best are able to join us because there is both great danger and great power in being an adventurer. This book will help you to live up to the responsibility of being an adventurer.

# Adventurers and Honor

It is fitting that this is the first chapter in the handbook as to the adventuring community honor is far more important than anything else. It is common for adventurers to become very wealthy as the dangers of this profession are rewarded with large amounts of treasure and because of this adventures’ seek status via the honor system. Everyone has a certain amount of honor that follows them around and as they do things that grow their reputation. The greatest insult is to attack someone’s honor. In general doing good things will grow your honor and doing evil things will lower your honor. In your homeland for instance you are due specific debts of honor. Other adventurers should respect your opinion of the area above others as you begin to travel the land. Specific things to grow or reduce your honor can be found in this handbook. Most adventures try to be honorable and uphold the rules set forth in this handbook but some are more successful than others. Adventurers with higher honor are given preference when being chosen for adventures and when awards are being doled out. Honor is also used to determine an adventurer’s experience. So as you embark on your adventures remember to be honorable both when it comes to your companions and the everyday people around you.

# The Bargain

As fitting as it is for honor to be the first section it is fitting for the Bargain to be second. The Bargain determines how much treasure adventurers get on adventures.

## Primary and Secondary Treasure

Each bargain has 6 shares to begin with.

* 1 Share for Mr. Clutter
* 1 Share for the Leader of the Adventure
* 3 Shares to be awarded by the leader throughout the adventure.
	+ Examples: 1 share to the party member who gets the final blow on the beast they have been contracted to kill and 1 share to the party member who finds the information that leads the party to the monster’s den.

In addition all members of the party including the leader receive shares equal to their experience and honor.

* Adventurers with low honor(Levels 1-5) get one share each
* Adventurers in good standing(levels 6-14) get 2 shares each
* Adventurers of the highest honor (levels 15+) Get 3 shares each

In addition to this primary treasure adventurers are likely to find secondary treasure. The standard agreement for secondary treasure is that it is divided evenly among the party with any odds given to the adventurer who killed the foe who held the treasure or discovered its location. It is also common for the leader to give magic items to whoever they believe will make the best use of them. When this happens the treasure is divided up into another share that is given to the Victor.

## Mr. Clutter and the Adventure Shop

Mr. Clutter is the leader of our guild and his adventure shop is the center of our society. Mr. Clutter is a former adventurer of renown who now spends his time helping his fellow adventurers find seekers of help, and helps seekers of help find quality adventurers to get their tasks done. He can be a bit quirky and seems to run the guild by himself without any help. His shop exists in his own personal pocket dimension and connects to Telous through his back door. This is not a part of the Great Arch.

## Lost Adventurers

We hate to admit it but it happens. This is a dangerous job and sometimes we are separated from our party. It is contracted that the party and lost person(s) should search for each other for no more than 14 days then the party should move on and continue on their goal. At that point the lost adventurer is released from this bargain and free to do whatever they see fit.

### Crossing the Wall

For those from lands with little to no magic you likely don’t Know about the Wall. When the god Nyx created the Ethereal Plane and the Court of the Shadowlands, mortals when they died began to be faced with the wall. A small stone wall separating the lands of the living from the lands of the dead. If a soul crosses the wall they can not be resurrected except with the most powerful of magics.(When Revify can no longer be cast someone has officially crossed the wall. True resurrection will still work but raise dead and resurrection no longer functions. Nyx’s Magic is too strong for anything but the strongest magic to bring people back after crossing the wall.)

If an Adventurer crosses the wall while engaged in this bargain their family will be supported with a monthly stipend from the widows and orphans fund. Depending on the party member’s service in this bargain the leader may award the dead adventurer’s family their share from this adventure. If an adventurer dies it is the leader’s burden to deliver the fallen adventurer’s Magic Bag to their Heir.

# How to Become an Adventurer and New Adventurers

With all this information about treasure you may be wondering, how do I become an Adventurer myself? Well it's not so simple as deciding to be one Mr. Clutter only lets worthy adventurers into his files. To find out if you are worthy you must be Chosen.

## The Choosing

Many people seek out Oracles, Seers, or Clerics and Mages of great power(LvL 15+) to discover if people are destined to be adventurers. If one of these powers finds you worthy they will give you the mark of an adventurer which when presented to Mr. Clutter will allow him to accept you into his files. The dangers of adventuring and the need for quality adventurers means that Mr. Clutter will only support adventurers who have been chosen.

How were you chosen? Did you seek it out wishing to be an adventurer or was it thrust upon you by surprise?

## Preparing for An Adventure

Once you are chosen and have joined Mr. Clutter’s files of Adventurers. Mr. clutter will find for you an adventure to join. Once he does he will walk you through your first bargain and give you a complimentary copy of this Handbook. If you have the money it is recommended that you purchase your own equipment but if you do not it is very honorable for a more wealthy adventurer to Stand good for you and purchase your starting equipment. Here is the recommended starting equipment for all adventurers at minimum:

* ◦ 1 3 room magic bag
* ◦ 1 mundane weapon
* ◦ Studded leather armor
* ◦ 1 months worth of food and water
* ◦ 1 tent
* ◦ 1 sleeping roll
* ◦ 1 tinderbox
* ◦ 10 torches
* ◦ 1 notebook of parchment
* ◦ Quill
* ◦ Ink
* 1 adventurer's handbook
* Money
	+ Start with 10gp if at level 2 using the slandered conversion of money in the player's handbook
	+ At level 3+ this is not your first adventure and you have acquired some wealth starting with 100 gold and then multiplying that value by your level.

## Magic Bags

Another thing adventurers from lands with little to no magic may not know about is magic bags. You can find the details for the item Here. A deeply powerful magic item made by only one individual across the known lands known only as the bag maker. No one else quite knows how the magic works and because of this he charges a high premium for his bags, While adventurers are not the only people who can buy magic bags because every single one of them does and the cost makes it too expensive for other professions Magic bags have become adventurer’s symbols.

### Rules of Honor

Given the power of magic bags there are a few rules of honor about them. It is a dishonor on both the giver and receiver if they seek the shelter of another’s bag. It is exceptionally rare for an Adventurer to share their bag’s passwords with another. This guide recommends you only do so with those you trust most usually a spouse. Your heir is often the only one to know your passwords. If an adventurer discovers a lost magic bag it is their duty to return it to the bag’s heir. The adventurer is always rewarded for this return by the bag’s heir. To return a lost bag and bring closure and wealth to a lost adventurer’s family is a great honor and conducting oneself honorably during the ceremony also speaks to an adventurer's honor.

## New Adventurers

Sometimes your party will have a new adventurer in it. You are honorbound to help that adventurer learn the ropes and teach them our ways.(leaders you should remind your party of this before beginning an adventure with a new Adventurer)

# Creating an Adventurer

### Campaign Format

When I am free I will send out a message to see who else would be free for a session. The players who are free will send me characters and I will determine the leader for the adventure from those characters based on who I think Mr. Clutter would choose. I will try to not make it the same Player twice in a row. You can either use the same character you used before or make a new character just because you make a new character does not mean you can not go back to your old one for a future session. Each session will be self contained campaigns similar to one shots. If we do not finish we will set that one shot aside until the same group of people is available to play again and finish it. There will be a story that connects each of these one shots that will tie the campaign together. What that is and how it will affect the world you will have to wait and see.

### Player Level

Please create a character that is either level 2 or level 3. Level 3 if you want to create an experienced adventure and level 2 if you want the experience of being a new adventurer. Only level 3+ adventurers will be considered to be leader of a party. All characters will stay within the same level range which will be levels 2-5 for now. Level ups will be determined via experience. Please bear with me at the beginning as I fine tune how much experience to give for each encounter and how to do levels. My intention is that everyone will be levels 2-5 and will level up to 6 together. At that point the level range will be 6-10 going forward. Experience correlates with your honor score in Mr. Clutter’s Folder for doing things listed as honorable in this guide you will gain experience and you will lose it for things deemed dishonorable. Sometimes that sacrifice will be necessary to overcome a goal and just like you would in real life you will have to decide if the ends justify the means.

### Class and Race

There are no banned classes or races that have been officially released by wizards. I am also likely to agree to homebrew classes and races as there are so many known lands that everything is possible. This is a campaign where I hope you explore and try out lots of things.

### Ability Scores

Please use point buy for your ability scores.

### Background

For your background pick what your character was doing before they were chosen and if they just came of age choose the Scholar background.

### Equipment

Your adventurer in addition to starting gold starts with the default equipment listed above at minimum If an armor would normally be provided to your class feel free to choose that instead of the minimum of studded leather. Also don’t be afraid to ask for an additional item if it makes sense your character would have found it i will probably say yes. Think about how your character got their equipment, did they buy it themselves if so where did they get the money? If not, who was their sponsor that paid for it. Did they do it as a gift or ask for it to be paid back after you had an adventure or two under your belt?

### Other Custom Rules

#### Movement

Each square is 5 feet and there is no impact on movement going diagonally.

#### Flanking

Both you and the creatures you fight can take advantage of the flanking bonus for advantage on attack rolls against enemies who are flanked.

#### Casting Multiple Spells in a Turn

If you cast a spell on your turn your second spell must be of 1st level or lower if you are 5th level or bellow. At 6th level you may cast a spell of 2nd level or lower.

# Leaders

Congratulations you have been chosen to lead a party! This increased reward and power comes with an increase in responsibility.

This is a test for me of a way to shorten the time planning takes up during sessions. If there is someone who is in charge of making the final decision it will shorten the time spent deliberating(I hope). I am very interested to hear what everyone thinks about this after a few sessions of it.

You were either chosen by Mr. Clutter or requested by the patron of the Adventure either way congratulations as this shows how much others respect you and increases your honor. Your responsibility is to ensure the success of the adventure and keep your party safe and efficient. While on an adventure your word is final. This handbook advises you to listen to the input your party gives on important decisions and then make a decision and stick to it. Don’t be afraid to admit you're wrong, no one is always right. That is why you have a party with you to accomplish your task. Rarely adventurers will not listen to you. How you deal with them will be reflected in both yours and their honor. Disobeying a leader requires a loss of honor no matter the circumstance.(if a leader’s command is wrong the honor you gain may make up for your loss of honor.) In addition to the loss of honor a leader may feel that a party member requires reparations in the form of treasure in addition to the loss of honor. Sometimes this is a reduction in their share of secondary treasure or even a percentage of the primary treasure. A common reparation for most offenses except those most severe is an at least partial loss in the next set of secondary treasure acquired.

# The Widows and Orphans Fund

This is a fund established by the first party who came to Telous and set up the Adventurers Guild. The idea was that after each adventure each member of the party would donate part of their profit to the fund. This fund would take care of the families of adventurers if they died while on the job. When Mr. Clutter founded his shop he demanded a share of every contract go to the Widows and Orphans Fund which has more than Quadrupled their net worth. It is still honorable for adventures to donate to the fund after there adventure, usually around 10% of their profits. However it is expected given their increased share that leaders should give more than others in the party.

# Known Lands

The known lands are varied and deep in their tradition; what is honorable in one could be viewed as dishonorable in another. In this section you will find the best map of the land available to the guild, notes about the government in the area, common traditions, and advice for adventurers operating in the land. More lands will be added as your overworked DM adds them. There will be a new entry before each session in a new land. Discuss with your DM the kind of environment you feel your adventurer is from. Is it a place with high or low technology, high or low magic, how does your society feel about magic? How much did the land's government affect your adventurer’s formative years? Was it oppressive? Who chose you to be an adventurer? I will use these answers to either create a new Land or find a home for your adventurer in one I have already created.

## The Great Arch

The great arch connects all the known lands. It is a piece of space that is actually the same spot. There is at least one in every known land and they were created by Eris for easy Travel Between The lands.

## Geebs

Geebs are creatures that people of the known lands use to send messages. All classes have the spell Summon Geeb added to their spell list. Geebs love gems and that is their preferred form of payment. Geebs will only ever refuse to deliver messages if the land they would go to is too dangerous for them. They understand but can not speak common and communicate via honks for no and dings for yes.

## Gods of the Known Lands

* The Source
	+ Not really a God but a primordial force. The source is an endless expanse of creative energy and where all magic comes from. Sorcerers are born with the ability to access the source, wizards can learn to access it through study, Druids and Rangers through the source’s connection to nature, and clerics and warlocks by using a powerful being’s connection to it. The source is the endless chaos in the astral sea that every plane floats upon. So cults worship the source rather than the flawed beings it created. Most people respect the source but see it as a tool rather than something to be worshiped. Kind of like an atom bomb and the cultists of atom in Fallout 4.
* Rhemir
	+ God of Order and First from Chaos Rhemir is strict in his beliefs and believes that the Chaos in the source should not be abided. Only order can create a prosperous multiverse. He is sometimes thought of a s ruler of the gods but many of them ignore his orders. His enemies call him the oathbreaker as in the Lands creation story Rhemir made an oath to make no more gods and when he broke it, in his mind to stop a greater chaos, the multiverse shattered. People who believe in order, laws, and rules above all else would do well to serve Rhemir
* Genesis
	+ Goddess of nature, created by Rhemir from the source. She is also a trickster goddess. Her chaotic nature was in opposition to Rhemir’s. She created the Feywild and all fey creatures. Known colloquially as mother nature. Often worshiped by wildmen, druids, rangers, or hunters.
* Reesis
	+ Goddess of love and peace, eldest daughter of Genesis and Rhemir. The first god born from love. She is often invoked during marriage ceremonies and is the patron of pacifists.
* Senton
	+ God of war and the second child of Genesis and Rhemir. Sometimes thought of as the god of Honor as well. Because of this a lot of adventurers worship him.
* Eris
	+ Known as the creator, Created the known lands and all the non fey races. Is the patron of creativity, smiths, artisans and sometimes wizards as his understanding of the source is greater than the other gods. He is the most popular god and the hero in a lot of stories about the gods. Because he created Telous and is thought of as an explorer and a boundary pusher he is also worshiped by a lot of adventurers.
		- Gods of Magic
			* Not much is known about the gods of magic but some lands have gods that seem to have control over the magic in that land. All mages in those lands often worship a god of magic.
		- Elementia
			* A nickname given to the children of Senton and Reesis. Their contradictory nature resulted in the extreme chaos in each of the children. Both have good and bad sides that are reflected in their worship. All are feared and given offerings to avoid tragedy but their calm side is often worshiped.
				+ Ur’ion
					- God of Storms and child of Senton and Reesis. Member of the elementia and ruler of the Land of Air(similar to air planes in traditional DnD) Given his chaos people rarely worship him. They do give offerings for good weather.
				+ Aurora
					- Goddess of flame and ruler of the land of fire. Another chaotic member of the elementia. Sometimes worshiped by adventurers as fire is an adventurer's friend and ally.
				+ Thalia
					- Goddess of the sea a lot like the other elementia.
				+ Gojun
					- God of the earth spends a lot of time sleeping as he is also the patron of dreamers but when he awakes his fury has no bounds.

* + Doldir
		- Goddess of knowledge and eldest child of Reesis and Eris. Patron of librarians, researchers and other seekers of knowledge.
	+ Nyella
		- Goddess of life and medicine. Patron of healers. Second child of Reesis and Eris. Often worshiped by healers.
	+ Tamera
		- Goddess of light and third child of Reesis and Eris. Often worshiped by farmers.
	+ Nyx
		- God of darkness and death. He was somewhat of a more favorable view then the other god of darkness and is often thought of more as the peace of twilight then true darkness.
* Ulrath
	+ God of evil and darkness, patron of demons. Few dare worship Ulrath. He has several warlocks in the known lands doing his bidding while he is trapped in the abyss.
* Karceri
	+ God of chaos and torture. Brother to Ulrath and patron of Fiends. Rarely worshiped but like Ulrath he has many warlocks to accomplish his bidding. Is trapped in the 9 Hells. Most Fiend bargains are made with him or one of his subordinates.
* Iris
	+ God of laws and defender of the binding. He keeps the other gods from interfering directly in the known lands and keeps the laws of the gods. His servants would be focussed on keeping the laws of the realm at any cost.

# Conclusion

I hope that this adventurer's handbook has helped you on your road to becoming a better and more honorable adventurer. Given that you have been chosen when in doubt, go with your gut and never forget you can rely on your fellow adventurers for guidance. There is a reason we work in parties and not as individuals. Don’t forget to have fun and get out there! Adventures await!

Sincerely

Mr. Cornelius Clutter