Stonehearth Allies

## **Late to the Game**

Not everybody has the opportunity to grow up in the system. There are those who grew up in Baldur's Gate; so close, but were on the wrong side of the street, under the "protection" of a different patriar. Maybe they're in Cormyr and disillusioned with the petty politics of the Purple Dragons. Maybe they're a former Zhentarim slaver, having seen the light of Ilmater and now they're on the run after freeing a score of indentured servants. Maybe they're an escaped slave from Thay.

So often, and so unfair, but *life is geography*.

That doesn't mean the character is forever fated to end where they began:

* Perhaps they've heard rumors Stonehearth is operating in the area.
* Perhaps they were approached by a shadowy figure with a surprising call to action and a generous incentive behind it.
* Perhaps they've seen a Stonehearth emissary in the flesh and now that person has seen new light in their future. They're looking to change their destiny – and the torch guiding their new path wears the emblem of Stonehearth...

### **The Edge of the Maelstrom**

Characters have grown watching the incredible trajectory of Stonehearth, perhaps even been caught in the wake and turbulence, but were never *in it*. Now that opportunity knocks – and they're close enough to benefit as they make the decision to follow the Light of the Torch.

As the characters come aboard, perhaps they've enjoyed little advantages that have come from having a close association. Now, as they're asked to do more, they will be given more to make that happen.

It's quite likely that they've seen a magical banner – one that has epic moving pictures behind each of the recruitment points. They're posted around the Stonehearth baronies of Impresk (Tethyr), Esparia (Cormyr), and around crossroads through Aetheril (former Netheril).

The versions change from region to region, usually noting local challenges and acknowledging the local authorities. The text might be in a local dialect of common, but is more often in the regional vernacular – reading like a local wrote it. The message, though, always begins with the unmistakeable, signature ethic of the *Commonwealth* in the banner:

## Role-Play Mechanics

There are two ways to play the Ally Path in the Primal Magic campaign:

* **Roll a new character:** the Primal Campaign has 200 years of customized history in Faerûn. If players are aware or familiar with the lore, starting fresh can also help reset expectations.

* **Import an old favorite:** sometimes, in high-stress situations, a little comfort goes a long way. Importing a familiar character can smooth the transition as players feel out the house-rule mechanics of Primal Magic.

### ***Rolling a new character***

Rolling a new character that comes from outside Stonehearth, using stock guidelines, is a great way to roleplay the differences in this new paradigm. Whether they were used to adventuring in Waterdeep or Cormyr, are an escaped slave from Amn or a Bedine descendant that fled the downfall of the Shadovar Netherese, there is a space for them if they can make it to the Marquisate.

Fresh characters who grew up near – *and benefitted from* – the Stonehearth infrastructure will have elevated stats. In that case, check the primal campaign's character construction page for instructions on just such a circumstance.

Will they still be overpowered? Maybe, for an average adventure back where they're from, but not where they're going. Ally storylines tend to catch characters in the crossfire between the growing Commonwealth and those who oppose its principles. Can the characters thread the needle between the threats?

#### ***From Places within the Lords' Alliance***

Well beyond the direct influence of the Stonehearth Marquisate, the upper northwest corner of Faerûn is an excellent place *to be from*. The constant cycle of threats (and minimal response for temporary stability) is the trademark of the just-enough **Lords' Alliance**.

It is well known within the Alliance that the Commonwealth was formed because the temporal lords couldn't or wouldn't commit. Baldur's Gate has a special relationship here, and entirely it's own precarious politics with Stonehearth. All the other *major* players from Faerûn's northwest, from Daggerford to Waterdeep to the recently-rebuilt Neverwinter, participate in the Alliance... along with Stonehearth.

It is through the Alliance that most characters will have some avenue of primal connection. Dust off the old the Forgotten Realms' Silver Marches supplement and consider a character that has surely heard of Stonehearth, but never considered travel to a place so distant. Primal might be powerful, but home is still *home*.

The game changer: for much of the Alliance, the last century has been dominated by the climate difference since the Shadovar-Netherese reversed the phaerimm's curse of the Anauroch desert. The return to the natural ecosystem did amazing things, for the ecosystem, but that was balanced out by the imperial assertions of an empire using corrupted shadow magic.

Just a year ago, *Stonehearth took over the lands of former Netheril to found Aetheril*. The distance from any given Alliance member from where they are to the Marquisate probably isn't too different from where they are to the massive swath of claimed Aetheril territory. Now, the primal way is so much closer that it's starting to have an effect on local politics.

#### ***From Places Far Distant***

If a player really wants to climb through the evolution and difference between standard 5e and Primal Magic evolution, start an allied character from an area *way far away*. If the DM is ready to dust off the guide to the Unapproachable East, a Mulhorandi character may have survived because of the Stonehearth Merchant Company magical scrolls helped bring the downfall of the High Imaskari.

Likewise, the once-mighty empires of Kara-Tur know they've already been left behind. Could they forge an alliance with Stonehearth, and perhaps lead their people to the Commonwealth? Could they do it while mindflayers do everything in their power to keep the Commonwealth out...?

For an overview of Stonehearth relations with areas outside the Lords' Alliance sphere of influence, check out the **Independent Polities** page.

### ***Importing an old favorite***

There are three primary paths to importing a pre-made/pre-played character into the ally path of the Primal Magic campaign.

* **Local character, retconned history**. This is simply adjusting the known history of the character to account for the presence of the Stonehearth influence flowing out from the Sword Coast. Appropriate for characters based in the Forgotten Realms, those who have taken an interest to learn some of the old canon can browse the Hall of Records and learn a little of the new history of the Realms. Ask the DM/GM about the "*Not Minimum Safe Distance*" (NMSD) scenario...
* **Foreign character, new arrival**. Bringing somebody in from Greyhawk, Eberron or beyond makes it as easy with no retcon re-learning necessary. Whether they arrive by Spelljammer, portal or teleportation gone awry, they've arrived in a crazy new Old World. This is also a good fit for the "*Not Minimum Safe Distance*" (NMSD) scenario, though they can also do a version of the *Reality Collapsing* (RC) scenario...
* **Local character, linear history**. A Forgotten Realms-based character could appear in the Primal Reality after a more disorienting, Twilight Zone-style transition. In this case, either waking up in a strange new reality, where everything seems familiary but just a little off from what they remember. As time goes on, they may even remember the transition, blissfully blocked out by amnesia after surviving the terror that is the beginning of the *Reality Collapsing* (RC) scenario...

## Where to from here?

* I'm talking to my DM. **Let's roll a character**!
* Wait, what were the scenarios for a **Stonehearth Subject**?
* What are the scenarios for an **adversary**?
* Actually, let me re-read that whole "**Crucible**" thing.