Chapter 1: Preliminary Matters

[back to The Cloven Lands]

Where to start? In a campaign that involves many plot threads across multiple kingdoms, it can be difficult to know where to begin. The goal of this chapter is to provide you, the MC, with several potential starting points. You might start all of your players off in the same area, or you might introduce each hero to the world individually, weaving together tales that begin before the adventuring party truly forms.

Morally Gray Campaign The Cloven Lands is intended to be a morally ambiguous campaign. The multiple factions in this campaign each have some valid points, and each have their own flaws. As such, the recommended method of playing this campaign is the most complicated one: divide your players into three groups (or four if you also use The Heartstone of Vedrathis) and play through each prologue following these heroes individually. This will set up the campaign to have the greatest amount of nuance as each of your players will have notably different perspectives on the same events.

Know the Heroes

Before deciding where to start your campaign, spend some time talking about your players’ characters with them. You might do this individually over text or phone call, or you might dedicate your first game session to working with your players as they collectively create their characters.

Lineages At this point in Ancerra’s history, Nalathesh, Kendaria, and especially Bridgemoor all have quite diverse representations of the lineages found in the CRB. Fiendbloods, Raedeen, Remnants, and Undead are much less common than the other lineages, but can still be found in any of these three nations.

As your players are imagining their characters, pay special attention to the heroes’ Backgrounds, Occupations, and Professions (BOPs). This will help you determine how and where to begin the campaign out of the several possible starting points. While any nation will have folk with any occupational tag, some nations have higher concentrations of specific occupations. Each of the seven occupational tags are listed below, with summarized pertinent information about Bridgemoor, Nalathesh, and Kendaria. For more complete information on these three nations, and on the other nations that border Nalathesh and Kendaria, see Appendix A.

Academic

Bridgemoor places a heavy emphasis on scholastic excellence. Academic achievements open political doorways in Bridgemoor, so anyone who can afford to send their children to Bridgemoor’s large university will do so. A formal education is seen as the most likely way to become a Meritocrat, one of the ruling elite. Formal education is a lot less common in Kendaria, given that the nation is largely agrarian. Any town of moderate size will have one or two scholarly folk who teach children reading, arithmetic, and history between planting and harvesting seasons. In the handful of proper cities throughout Kendaria, formal education is more common. Nalathesh’s academic institutions are generally focused on arcane and alchemical invention. Nalathesh eagerly imports academic talent from abroad, drawing scholars from other nations to contribute their own understanding of magic, science, and how the two interact. The scholarly in Nalathesh are all part of a national guild dedicated to research, experimentation, and archiving any magical item or creature that they can discover, and scientists can often be found in frontier settlements diving into the Flesh Pit or the Great Chasm in search of treasure.

Aristocratic

The Meritocrats oversee legislation and appoint the top officials in executive and judicial functions: the Bridge Knight Commander and the Master Magister. These two figures appoint their subordinate administrators (Bridge Knight Captains and Magisters, respectively) to enforce and interpret law within the city.

Kendaria is a monarchic nation with a traditional feudal political model. As each eldest daughter of the Gillian house comes of age, her mother prepares her to become the next queen.

Landed gentry serve as dukes or duchesses over multiple towns, while each settlement is managed by a baron or baroness. Dukes and duchesses report to the queen’s court and serve as intermediaries between the monarch and the local towns under their purview. In Nalathesh, the Godking makes every decision of substance. His will is enforced by his Radiant Princes: highly educated magic-using military commanders capable of serving on the battlefield or in a legislative hall. Nalathesh’s godking is named Neferu, and while he is somewhat unpopular among the common folk, he has also made Nalathesh quite prosperous. His right hand man, General Tenemei, oversees the Radiant Princes. While Neferu is begrudgingly respected, General Tenemei is outright feared for his cruelty.

Mercantile

Bridgemoor is a thriving mercantile state. By design, the city-state receives a high volume of travelers and merchants flowing into and through the region. It trades especially frequently with Nalathesh and Kendaria as it connects the two nations, but merchants from other nations will frequent Bridgemoor as well. Many of Kendaria’s internal roads between its towns - especially those networking the Old Forest - have fallen into a state of disrepair. This has proven a great challenge for many of the smaller hamlets that rely on inter-settlement trade to shore up their economies. Kendaria maintains land trade with its closest neighbors, Constel to the north and the city-state of Bridgemoor to the west. In Bridgemoor, Kendarian merchants also do business with Nalatheshi traders regularly. Kendaria will occasionally trade with Nenva, although Queen Astaria and most Kendarians view Nevna with fear and suspicion. Nalathesh’s caravans of traders are highly skilled at surviving in the desert, and so while fewer traders come to Nalathesh directly, many Nalatheshi caravans trade with their nearest neighbors: Lesmishan to the north, Husk and Falth to the west, and Hadla to the south. Traders from Bridgemoor frequently traverse Nalathesh, led by caravan guides that know the lay of the land. Nalatheshi traders also travel through Bridgemoor to do business with Kendaria.

Militant

Bridge Knight Commander Ser Kellion Blacksky maintains strict discipline in the streets of Bridgemoor. Under his guidance, the Bridge Knights have become more disciplined and competent than they have ever been historically. The Bridge Knights are few in number and could not yet effectively wage war on a neighboring country, but they could defend Bridgemoor indefinitely or until food and water ran out. Queen Astaria has begun to restructure Kendaria’s military in an attempt to promote greater discipline: no longer do the gentry have the right to levy soldiers themselves, but instead they must entreat the monarchy to lend out some of its standing army in times of crisis. Queen Astaria’s top general, Ser Grendor, rigorously trains lieutenants to lead soldiers on both land and sea. While competent, the Kendarian national army is still quite small. Nalathesh’s military is well-trained and well-equipped. All soldiers respond directly to the Godking or his Radiant Princes. The elite Bronzeguard are a legion of cavaliers that ride dracanises into combat, decimating threats to the kingdom. They often patrol the Flesh Pit to ensure that its foul presence does not spread.

While far from the largest standing military in Gathandia, Nalathesh invests a great deal of money and magical research into strengthening their military.

Religious

Bridgemoor has no official religion, and each citizen is encouraged to pursue their own beliefs. Several temples dedicated to specific pantheons or tenets can be found throughout Bridgemoor, along with unaffiliated houses of worship that offer a quiet, contemplative space for any nonviolent belief system. Many Kendarians are both religious and superstitious. Kendarian society relies heavily on the Old Forest for a variety of resources, so many Kendarians venerate the Pashak Conclave of the Archfae and occasionally offer prayers to the Celestial Council. On days or weeks of festivity, food offerings will often be burned in an effort to please the Pashak Conclave. As the Pashak represent vegetative life, the planting season in early spring is especially sacred to Kendarians. Nalathesh has the most draconian religious practices out of the three nations. Worship of the Godking is mandatory. National taxes are seen as a religious responsibility, and any sign of insincerity in one’s worship of the Godking is punishable with imprisonment.

Underworld

Bridgemoor has no shortage of white-collar criminals that line their own pockets with a little more silver and gold. Overt crime from mugging to burglary is generally uncommon thanks to Ser Kellion’s iron discipline, but cult activity lurks in the sewers and storage cellars beneath the streets. Known as the Underbridge Cult, these miscreants are a countercultural movement looking to prove how meaningless and absurd “Meritocracy” truly is. Among other things, they try to summon fiends from Inferno to wreak havoc in the city. In Kendaria, crime occurs but is not widely organized, with the exception of gangs in the capital city and a couple other major cities. Such gangs are isolated and only stake their claim over a few alleyways and marketplaces. The smaller communities have low crime rates and harsh punishments for thieves and miscreants. Perhaps because Nalathesh is so heavy-handed politically and religiously, a vast criminal network lurks throughout the nation in opposition to its authorities. Known as the Sandsnakes, this network smuggles information, spices, and fine goods to the powerful and corrupt bankers of Lesmishan.

Social

Although not one of the occupational tags in character options, it is helpful to understand the social elements common in each of the three nations. Wanderers who travel to these nations would observe the following cultural tendencies.

Bridgemoor has a diverse culture. Folk from Nalathesh and Kendaria make up most of Bridgemoor’s citizens, but some traders from lands beyond decided to settle in Bridgemoor as well, leading to a confluence of many beliefs. It’s not uncommon for there to be at least two festivals in a given month due to the wide spectrum of cultures and religions and their respective celebratory events.

Whispered conspiracies aside, Kendarians are usually a hospitable lot. As most settlements in the nation are on the smaller side, each person in a community usually knows most of their neighbors. When someone’s roof leaks after a summer thunderstorm, the community will take time out of their day to pitch in. Kendarians view strangers and travelers with both suspicion and curiosity. Nalatheshi culture revolves around the Godking, international trade, and the harsh but fascinating truths of desert living. Shade and wind are often celebrated as gifts from the Godking’s mercy, and sudden rainstorms might cause merchants and laborers to stop their work for the day and engage in revelry.

Your Heroes’ BOPs

Think about the backgrounds, occupations, and professions of each of your adventurers. How might it make the most sense to introduce them? If all of your players have the Wandering and/or Mercantile occupations, maybe they are a group of Nalatheshi caravaners. If they all have the Academic or Aristocratic occupations, maybe they are lifetime residents of Bridgemoor. Work with your players to decide where each of the heroes hail from. If one or more of your players have specific visions for which nation they are from, honor those ideas and work with them when planning how to start the campaign.

Optional Bonus Skills If you wish, you can offer an extra +2 bonus in one skill to each of your players, to reflect the way their nationality has influenced them. Your players can choose their +2 bonus based on their nationality, as recommended below. This table accounts for all of the nations immediately bordering Nalathesh and Kendaria, so if your heroes come from farther afield, use whichever list appears most reasonable to you. Bridgemoor: Law, Politics (of Bridgemoor), Savoir Faire Kendaria: Carpentry, Politics (of Kendaria), Religion (Archfae) Nalathesh: Appraising, Navigating, Politics (of Nalathesh) Constel: Carpentry, History, Politics (of Constel) Falth: Deceiving, Evading, Politics (of Falth) Hadla: History, Politics (of Hadla), Woodcarving Husk: Arcana, Intuiting, Politics (of Husk) Kess: Eavesdropping, Politics (of Kess), Scavenging Lesmishan: Appraising, Intuiting, Politics (of Lesmishan) Nevna: Menacing, Politics (of Nevna), Vehicles (Water) Vadan: History, Nature, Politics (of Vadan)

Determine the Prologues

Having figured out how each of your adventurers fit into the campaign world, it’s time to prepare the prologue adventure or adventures. Remember that you can start The Cloven Lands with one of three adventures: The Nalatheshi Caravan, Kendarian Diplomats, or The Bridgemoor Mines. The Heartstone of Vedrathis is also a viable beginning to the campaign.

You might have a single prologue, one-on-one individual prologues, or spotlight prologues.

Single Prologue

In this approach, you begin the campaign with one starting prologue of your choice. All of your players are introduced at that location and form their adventuring party during the events of this prologue.

Individual Prologues

If you wish, you can run individual prologues with one or two players each before the entire adventuring party comes together. In this approach, the entire party of heroes will not meet one another until the Underbridge Cult adventure (see Chapter 3).

This approach allows each player to feel grounded and important in their own region of the world before they form a group.

Individual Prologues Example Imagine that Nathan is the MC for The Cloven Lands. His players are Grant, Andi, Jake, Myco, and John. Nathan decides that he wants to use the Individual Prologues introduction to the campaign. After the group has made their heroes, Nathan looks over their BOP and backstories to determine where each hero should start the campaign. He then runs several separate starting adventures. In the first session, Jake plays through the events of The Nalatheshi Caravan. In the second session, John experiences The Bridgemoor Mines adventure. In the third session, Myco plays the Kendarian Diplomats prologue. Finally, for the fourth adventure, Nathan runs Andi and Grant through The Heartstone of Vedrathis. Jake, John, and Myco, come together to play The Underbridge Cult. Subsequently, Andi and Grant join the party in the events of Chapter 4.

Spotlight Prologues

The Spotlight Prologues campaign model is the recommended way to begin The Cloven Lands. It is similar to the individual prologues approach, but keeps every player involved in every session. Once you have determined which heroes will be introduced in which prologues, explain to the players that when their hero is not present in a prologue, they will run another character temporarily. Players can make their own temporary heroes, or use premade characters from the Legends of MythCraft if they do not want to make additional characters. While every player is involved in every prologue, the MC will spotlight the heroics of the particular heroes that will go on to form the main adventuring party of The Cloven Lands.

Spotlight Prologues Example Imagine again that Nathan is MCing The Cloven Lands for Grant, Andi, Jake, Myco, and John. Using the Spotlight Prologues model, Nathan will again use each hero’s BOP and backstories to determine where each hero should start the campaign. Instead of running individual sessions with only one or two players, Nathan runs multiple campaign beginnings with each player present, even when their adventurer is not introduced. In The Nalatheshi Caravan, Jake’s character will receive the spotlight, but Grant, Andi, Myco, and John will also play heroes that later fade into the background and become NPCs. Likewise, in the Bridgemoor Mines and the Kendarian Diplomats, John and Myco respectively will have their heroes receive the most prominence, but each player will be present with their own temporary hero. The Heartstone of Vedrathis prominently displays the antics of Grant’s and Andi’s characters, though Jake, John, and Myco will participate with their own temporary heroes. In The Underbridge Cult adventure, Jake’s hero from The Nalatheshi Caravan will team up with John’s hero from the Bridgemoor Mines and with Myco’s hero from Kendarian Diplomats. Grant and Andi can use their placeholder heroes from any of these three adventures during this time. Finally, upon the conclusion of the Underbridge Cult adventure, the true party that will go on the remaining adventures in The Cloven Lands takes form: Jake from The Nalatheshi Caravan; John from the Bridgemoor Mines; Myco from Kendarian Diplomats; and Grant and Andi from The Heartstone of Vedrathis. Any additional heroes at this point become NPCs that fade into the background. The MC may use these NPCs from time to time to convey information to the adventuring party, which will be a fun, rewarding callback to the campaign’s origins.

Having determined how you will approach the prologues, it’s time to dive into the campaign!

Prologue: The Bridgemoor Mines

Prologue: Kendarian Diplomats

Prologue: Nalatheshi Caravan