Sorceror Hunters - Game Background This game will deal with events which began in and immediately followed the night of Boccob 14, in the year 370 of the current era. The effects of that night, later known to surviving bards as the "Night of Madness", were felt across the Material Plane, but were centered most strongly on Spooner Island, a sparsely-populated island situated near the western shore of the Quel'thalas Empire. ----------- Founding of Spooner Island Spooner Island was colonized in 304 CE by Lord William Spooner, one of several human nobles of the Empire of Quel'thalas. Lord Spooner had received his title in 303 CE (subsequent to his successful handling of the affair of the Goblet and Flame) but due to his minority status was awarded a rather small and unproductive estate in the Karanese Wetlands. Displeased with this holding, he petitioned instead to annex and colonize one of the western islands. The Dowager looked on his cause with favor, and with remarkable haste Lord Spooner assembled a (mostly-human) expedition and hired a reasonably skilled mercenary party (the Silver Arrows, distinguished by their extermination of an ogre war party in the east). Thus provisioned he set out on Obad-Hai 12, 304 CE, to make the island habitable. Despite the island's long period untouched by the Empire, Lord Spooner and the Silver Arrows found the island inhabited by nothing they had much trouble with. A moderately sized green dragon was dispatched, a colony of lizardmen in the south was negotiated with, and several dinosaurs were captured and removed to the mainland for study. In CE 306 the Silver Arrows' contract expired and was not renewed. ----------- Status of Spooner Island as of Boccob 14, CE 370 Spooner Island has a population of roughly 5000, divided among four significant settlements. Landing, to the east, is the site of Lord Spooner's first arrival on the island. It is the center of government for the island, and most of the city's craftsmen live there. Landing is surrounded by arable farmland and boasts the island's only functioning port. Landing has a population of slightly less than 2000, most of whom are human. Kt'sss'ar, in the south, is a region of swamp containing several tribes of lizardmen who have lived on the island since before Lord Spooner arrived. On Olidammara 19, CE 304, the lizardmen signed the Treaty of Kt'sss'ar, which basically reads "let us live here and we won't kill you all." There are some clauses about magical and military aid, and the lizardmen weren't really using the whole island when the humans showed up, so nobody (in the Empire, at least) feels too bad about it. For their part, if the lizardmen resent the intrusion of the Empire onto their island, they conceal it well. (Lizardmen call humans "Artificers", a reference to wizards' skills at magic item creation. Lizardmen have no native item crafters (other than Brew Potion) and carry out a steady trade with the wizards and clerics of Landing.) Kt'sss'ar has a population of about 500, almost entirely lizardmen except for a few wizards of other species. New Stonepeak, in the center of the island, is home to a small colony of about 500 residents, mostly dwarves, who arrived a few years after Lord Spooner. The island was volcanic at one point in the past, and it is in fact fairly rocky at the peak. Apparently the dwarves have found some good metals down there, because they keep up a remarkably strong trade with the mainland given their size. They pay taxes, too - revenue from dwarven trading is a significant part of Lord Spooner's income. Northport, to the north, is a settlement of about 1000 people whose economy seems to be based entirely on fishing. It's true that the fishing is excellent there - probably because it's the farthest point on the island from the piscivorous lizardmen tribes - but that alone doesn't seem to explain its popularity. Perceptive (or cynical) citizens have observed that, hypothetically speaking, fishermen would be pretty good at smuggling since they're out alone in those little boats all day, and the law enforcment on Obad-Hai Bay seems to be a little lax in that department. The Free Lands, in the west, are inhabited by "pioneers", which can politely be described as "extremely chaotic types with a strong desire for individual freedoms." In particular, it is suspected that some of them treasure their freedom of religion: there have been rumors of worship of Vecna and Nerull in the region. The Empire officially permits its citizens to revere whatever gods they wish, but active worship of evil gods often involves acts forbidden by law. Most pioneers don't do this sort of thing, of course, but the Free Lands are a dangerous place, and pioneers are generally well-armed and suspicious of strangers. ----------- Political Summary Lord William Spooner, and his son John Spooner, proved excellent governors; it was under their leadership that the island grew to its present size. The town of Landing is presently governed by Henry Spooner, the third in the line. Henry is a competent but unspectacular ruler who relies on his advisors for most day-to-day decisions. Landing maintains a small town guard of roughly 20 people. The island has not seen a significant war in its 65 years of colonization. On the rare occasions military action is needed (mostly to deal with dinosaurs that stray too close to Landing), the aristocracy of Landing are expected to contribute soldiers from their personal guard. (There are four noble families in Landing; none are "noble" in the sense of possessing titles from the Empire, but all have been established in Landing since the start and as a result are wealthy landowners. The families are Spooner, Saucer, Teapot and Butler.) Combined, the families could contribute up to a hundred trained and semitrained soldiers, including as many as ten first- and second- level clerics of Heironeous and Kord. A note, regarding naming convention: Many of the humans in the Quel'thalas Empire are personal servants of elven aristocrats. Of those that are not servants, many have ancestors that were. Such servants tend to have names befitting their station. Those who are now nobles of Landing have kept their old names; they wish to preserve their heritage, however low it may once have been. ----------- Character Creation This game will deal with characters who were in Landing on the night of Boccob 14, CE 370, and who distinguished themselves by their actions during the events of that night. Generate characters at third level, with 5000 experience and 4000 gold pieces. No single item you buy may cost more than 2500 gold pieces. Compute stats using the point-buy system, with 25 points. Compute hit points at each level by taking the average (round up). (For example, a third-level fighter with 10 CON would have 10+6+6=22 hit points.) All PHB races are allowed, plus the ECL race Lizardmen. For reasons which may become apparent in-game, the Sorceror, Bard, and Paladin classes are not available at character creation. (If you find this constrictive, talk to me privately and perhaps we can work something out.) Your DM is also not a fan of Rogues; if you play a Rogue, you may not get as much out of the game as you would with a combat-capable class. We will not use custom races or classes during character creation. Prestige classes may be permitted. Please advise me ahead of time what classes/skills/techniques you plan for your character to take. This is mostly for your protection; it would be embarrassing if you spent six levels working toward a prestige class and then discovered it did not exist in my world. It is unlikely that players will have sufficient time in-game to use item creation feats. Regardless, players may not spend experience during character creation; instead, pay 5gp per experience point you would have spent. Please build a competent, effective character that will be a valuable addition to the party. Your character should respect (and be respected by) all other party members, potentially including those of LG alignment. Feel free to communicate with other players during character creation, to ensure a balanced party or to coordinate character backgrounds. I do not require that party members know each other before the game begins. I will run presessions for groups of 1-3 characters. All characters must participate in at least one presession. If your character dies or otherwise does poorly during the presession, you may be asked to create a new character. ----------- Gameplay Notes Landing, the largest settlement on the island, has a population slightly under 2000. Many items with cost 1500gp or less are readily available; other items will need to be ordered specially. Spellcasters in Landing include a fifth-level wizard, a fifth-level cleric, a fifth-level bard, and a fifth-level druid (plus various lesser casters).** I'll repeat, for emphasis: THERE IS NO NINTH-LEVEL CLERIC. Raise Dead is not available. Reincarnation may be an option, but would require a personal appeal to the Matriarch of Kt'sss'ar. Don't die. ** Once spellcasters reach level five or six, they have a tendency to stay there, spending excess experience on item crafting. In part this is because most spellcasters are not adventurers, so they have a lot of downtime and don't gain much experience. The Lizardmen race costs ECL 1. It grants STR +2, CON +2, INT -2, and +5 natural armor. Lizardmen find mundane human armor constrictive and unpleasant (and they have no metalworkers of their own); they may not wear medium or heavy armor, and may only wear light armor if it is magical. If you play a Lizardman your first language is Draconic; you must spend two skill points to speak Common. A lizardman's favored class is druid. Lizardmen are never monks. For more information see the Monster Manual. ----------- Scheduling