Encounters for Upper Dlak / North Approach

There are only two encounters before the PCs get to the archon's palace if they approach from the north. They are both "double" encounters, where twice the normal XP total of foes are thrown at them. This is because the archon knows that the northern approach is the least inhabited by monstrous guardians, and he has arranged his forces to protect this possible route most strongly.

DMs should make it clear to PCs that they can flee these encounters if they keep their heads. The enemies are more interested in driving them off than killing them. The ash clouds and ruins make it easy to lose pursuit once they're reached. If they don't retreat to the ash clouds fully, they may at least take a short rest and use healing surges / recover powers while the monsters search for them amongst the ruins. If they do choose to engage, expect a tough, dangerous fight.

The meta-game idea here is to drive them off and make them approach through another entrance, but daring, resourceful or rash PCs may make it through these encounters. Their "reward" for doing so is swifter access to the palace of the archon, and some excellent treasure but at the price of having used much of their power.

Palace Guard Strike Force

The first encounter is triggered if the PCs start breaking barriers down, or if they draw attention to themselves - by casting spells or yelling, for example. Within a few rounds of reaching a second barrier, the patrol will come to investigate the disturbance. This is a tactically balanced undead group led by intelligent undead in service to the archon of Dlak. They will generally try to approach quietly and pin the PCs against the barrier to limit how much they can maneuver. PCs may attempt to hide, or ambush the enemy if they can notice them coming. They will approach in several stages in each case.

There are two versions of the patrol, depending upon the PCs level. One is designed for 5th level characters, one for 8th. Groups with fewer than 5 PCs, or groups between those levels should have the encounter proportionally strengthened or weakened. Notes for doing so are given in each account.

Patrol for 5th level characters:

3 Wights (see the Monster Manual)
1 Deathlock Wight (see the Monster Manual)
4 Fireborn Zombies
1 Wraith (see the Monster Manual)
Total XP: 1975

Two of the wights and the deathlock will approach first. The fireborn zombies  and the third wight will approach in the second round from another direction. In the third round, or whenever a PC is in an appropriately location before then, the wraith will strike from out of one of the ruins.

A fireborn zombie is a Chillborn Zombie (see the Monster Manual) that deals fire damage instead of cold damage with its powers and aura, and it has fire resist 10 instead of cold resistance. These zombies look badly burnt, and are covered in ash and soot. They seem to smolder with incredible heat when up close.

Suggested Tactics: The deathlock will reanimate whichever one of the wights goes down first, or the wraith. It will otherwise stay back and pick at any characters that use ranged attacks, or that try to flee. The wights will close immediately, and shift around defenders to hit anyone hanging back. The fireborn zombies will advance as a pack to increase the damage their auras deal, and will cluster around defenders and strikers to bog them down while the wights and wraith shift around to give combat advantage. The wraith waits until it can get combat advantage, shifts in, and attacks.

Upgrades:

6th level: Add two more deathlock wights and another fireborn zombie. One of the deathlock wights enters with the first group, and the other with the second group. The fireborn zombies enters with the other zombies. Total XP: 2525

7th level: As per 6th level, plus the zombies (all five) become zombie hulks. They smash targets prone and let the wights and the wraith pick on them. XP: 3025

Patrol for 8th level characters:

3 Battle Wights (see the Monster Manual)
3 Zombie Hulks (see the Monster Manual)
1 Skull Lord (see the Monster Manual)
6 Vampire Spawn Bloodhunters (see the Monster Manual)

XP: 3500

The Vampire Spawn and Skull Lord will enter first - the vampire spawn will use their better perception score to hunt for the PCs if they're hiding or invisible. If it is during the day, pick one direction of the map to be north (the direction the PCs came from). The appropriate half of the map (east or west, depending upon time of day) will be in shadow from the chasm's walls. The other half will be in direct sunlight. The vampire spawn will avoid going to that side of the area, which perceptive PCs may notice.

1d4 rounds after the skull lord and the vampire spawn enter, the battle wights and zombie hulks will enter from a different direction.

Suggested Tactics: The vampire spawn will try to swarm targets to prevent them from moving easily, especially if they are in the shadowed part of the map. The skull lord will hang back and resurrect them as they fall until the zombie hulks and wights show up. Then he will use his powers to push any loose PCs towards the wights, who will attempt to immobilise them. The spawn will swarm any immobilised target while the wights and zombie hulks draw attempted defenders away. The zombie hulks will knock fleeing foes prone, giving the wights time to approach and immobilise them.

Downgrades:

7th level: One less battle wight. XP 3100
6th level: One less battle wight and the zombie hulks become ghouls (see the Monster Manual). The ghouls immobilise along with the two remaining wights. There are only five vampire spawn. XP 2525

That's right - one encounter in and I'm already breaking all the rules for encounter design.

Do you guys think I should draw up maps for these encounters and scan them in or should I leave that to individual DMs?

Any information lacking so far that you would expect if your PCs were to climb down into the chasm and approach the ruins of Dlak from the north?

Palace Wall Guard

This encounter is another double encounter. The enemies here are stationed along and around the inner walls that separate the archon's palace from the rest of the city. This is composed mostly of unintelligent undead brutes and soldiers with a few commanders and some artillery. If the PCs defeated the strike force without retreating, then they may be able to sneak up on them. If not, the wall guard is alert and ready for danger.

The wall guard is mostly deployed along the wall, which is a large stone wall in some disrepair. It is high enough that PCs cannot attack enemies ontop of it, and must climb up to confront them. There are multiple avenues of approach to the top of it - collapsed sections, stairs, and loose brickwork to climb.

Wall Guard for 5th level

4 Blazing Skeletons (see the Monster Manual)
1 Mad Wraith (see the Monster Manual)
4 Phantom Warriors (see the Monster Manual)
5 Vampire Spawn Fleshrippers (see the Monster Manual)

The skeletons and phantom warriors (hill elves armed with swords and axes and dressed in ghostly armour) are stationed at the top of the wall. The vampire spawn are hiding in the ruins at the base of the wall, as is the wraith. The same rules for determining where direct sunlight is from the previous encounter should be used for the vampire spawn in this encounter. They will also not go into the light if possible.

Suggested Tactics:

The blazing skeletons will start firing as soon as they spot the PCs in range. The vampire spawn will try to keep the PCs from retreating out of the range of the blazing skeletons. If the PCs try to climb the wall, the phantom warriors will move in groups to stop them, but will ignore them unless they are on the wall. The wraith will wait until the phantom warriors have marked someone or until it can get combat advantage, and then move in to attack.

Upgrades:

6th Level: 2 more phantom warriors, 3 more vampire spawn. XP 2500
7th Level: As per 6th, but with a skull lord to boot. The skull lord keeps the vampire spawn up to harass the PCs. 3000

Wall Guard for 8th level:

1 Wailing Ghost / Banshee (see the Monster Manual)
4 Flameskulls (see the Monster Manual)
2 Skeletal Temple Guardians
1 Battle Wight
XP 3500

The flameskulls are up at the top of the wall, while the temple guardians, and the battle wight are down below. The banshee should be hidden amongst the ruins and will emerge opportunistically.

Suggested Tactics: The skeletons attack the PCs while the flameskulls bombard them. They will exclude the skeletons from the area of their fireballs, but should otherwise just dump their fireballs en masse while the PCs are close together. The banshee uses its scream push to knock PCs back into the skeletons, while the wight attempts to immobilise them if they climb the wall.

Downgrades:

7th level: Get rid of the battle wight. The banshee is replaced with another flameskull and a mad wraith who acts like the mad wraith in the 5th level encounter. XP 3000

6th level: No banshee, one less flameskull. XP 2450

Situation:

The two sides of Upper Dlak are controlled by two competing gnollish tribes who worship the same demonic master. The demon is imprisoned in the catacombs under one of the temples of Dlak, and cannot leave unless a certain ritual is performed. The only one who knows the ritual is the archon of Dlak, a powerful vampire warlock who was once the elven king of this city. He has agreed to free it in exchange for a sworn oath that it will hunt down and destroy those who killed his people and burnt his city.

In order to perform the ritual, the archon requires many living sacrifices, and the demon has commanded the gnolls to raid the surrounding countryside. In addition, it has sworn that whichever tribe gathers the requisite number first and frees it shall be its chosen warriors, while the losers will be destroyed utterly. To better savour their anguish, and to ensure they devote themselves to getting the victims, it has forbidden the gnolls from killing one another.

The people the PCs are looking for are all victims of this cruel contest. Unless they are rescued in time, they will be sacrificed en masse to the archon's ritual and a great evil will be unleashed out of Dlak.

Each one of the gnollish tribes controls one of the eastern and western approaches to the city, while the archon controls the inner city of lower Dlak. The rest of the city is home to monsters, beasts, and various undead creatures.

Upper Dlak - Western Approach

The Western Approach encompasses three Encounter Areas. From north to south: H, E, and J

The western approach to Dlak is dotted with lightly wooded hills, with long stretches of open country in between them. The ruins are nearly imperceptible at times, with only hints of a once mighty city. A clay corner might jut from a hill, or a pile of rubble might lay undisturbed on the side of a hill. The foundations of a building might provide a few feet of stone to hide behind. A DC 10 Perception check will reveal relatively recent graffiti on trees and the remnants of buildings, and a DC 15 Nature check will tell adventurers that it is gnollish.

This begins two quests.

1) Avoid Alerting the Gnolls (minor quest) The PCs can choose to head directly to the city without alerting the gnolls to their presence. If the PCs can reach either the north-western approach (Encounter Area A) or the south-western approach (Encounter Area B) without the gnolls noticing their presence, they each receive 100 XP.

2) Investigate the Gnolls (minor quest) The PCs can also choose to investigate the area for a possible gnollish encampment - a good place to potentially find the people they're looking for. If they can get a clear view of the inside of the gnoll camp and assess whether the gnolls have the people they're looking for (or other prisoners), they each receive 100 XP.

Random Encounters:

There are three possible random encounters for PCs as they traverse the western approach. DMs should use them as they please.

Random Encounter 1: Gnollish Hunters

A hunting party of gnolls and hyenas. Once all the gnolls are bloodied, one will attempt to flee back and warn the gnoll encampment. If they reach it, this will cause the encampment to begin sending out considerably tougher warriors to search for the PCs. It will also cause the PCs to fail their quest to avoid alerting the gnolls.

For 5th level PCs:
2 Gnollish Huntmasters (see the Monster Manual)
5 Hyenas (see the Monster Manual)

XP 1025

For 8th level PCs:

1 Gnoll Demonic Scourge (see the Monster Manual)
2 Gnoll Claw Fighters (see the MM)
3 Cacklefiend Hyenas (see the Monster Manual)
XP 1750

Random Encounter 2: Gnollish Raiding Patrol

These are gnolls out to capture more victims for their demon lord. They will attempt to capture PCs. Once all the gnolls are bloodied or dead, surviving gnolls will attempt to flee back to the encampment with the consequences outlined above.

For 5th level PCs:
2 Gnoll Marauders (see the Monster Manual)
2 Gnoll Claw Fighters (see the MM)
XP 1000

For 8th level PCs:
1 Gnoll Demonic Scourge (see the MM)
1 Spirit Devourer (see the Monster Manual)
1 Gnoll Marauder (see the MM)
XP 1750

Note: the Spirit Devourer is bound by the Demonic Scourge. If the Demonic Scourge is killed, the Spirit Devourer will treat the Gnoll Marauder as an enemy along with the PCs.

Random Encounter 3: A New Challenger Appears

Someone else is interested in what's going on in Dlak, but for sinister reasons. DMs are encouraged to flesh out these characters as they see fit, possibly tying them into any ongoing storylines in their own campaigns.

For 5th level PCs:

1 Tiefling Heretic w/ Demonic Acolyte Template (see the Monster Manual & Dungeon Master's Guide)
2 Evistro Demons (see the Monster Manual)
XP 1000

For 8th level PCs:
1 Deathpriest of Orcus w/ Death Master Template (see the Monster Manual & Dungeon Master's Guide)
2 Mummy Guardians (see the Monster Manual)
1 Mad Wraith (see the MM)
XP 1750

The Deathpriest will summon Vampire Spawn Fleshrippers if it is night time, or if they are in a position to avoid direct sunlight. Otherwise, just have him summon 4 creatures that are identical to Human Lackeys, but with undead trappings.

Encounter Area H - Watchtower Hill

This is a tall saddle-shaped hill with a watchtower on its southern face. The watchtower is still mostly intact, and is built of a weathered stone that crumbles when struck. PCs may reach the watchtower without a climb check, but they will be visible to gnolls in the watchtowers in Encounter Area E during the day. PCs may make a Stealth Check DC 27 to reach the tower without being observed. At night, the check's DC is only 18.

The watchtower provides a safe place to camp. A DC 30 Perception check will reveal a secret passage in the base of the watchtower. A hidden latch disguised as a brick will release and a part of the wall will slide back. This reveals a passageway that will take the PCs to Encounter Area Y - Outer Palace Grounds, by traveling a narrow passageway about 1 km long.

Er, if no one's interested in this, I'll split the Ashlands stuff off into a separate thread and go back to general world-building stuff.

Interested. Just busy except late lately, and this variety of stuff is tough to digest in the wee hours of the morning.

Cool setting.  If I ever get a chance to DM, I will certainly loot heavily.

Quote from: Pseudoephedrine;219543Er, if no one's interested in this, I'll split the Ashlands stuff off into a separate thread and go back to general world-building stuff.

I'm loving it, although I think a seperate thread would be good idea.

Any further thoughts on a compiled document? I ask because I'm too pressed for time to build my own setting right now, and will be thieving mainly from yours.

Quote from: Drew;220824I'm loving it, although I think a seperate thread would be good idea.

Any further thoughts on a compiled document? I ask because I'm too pressed for time to build my own setting right now, and will be thieving mainly from yours.

I might be able to crank out something in the next few days. Probably some primers for PCs, plus a primer for DMs.

Also, I'd love to hear about the game once you've got it underway.

Quote from: Pseudoephedrine;220876I might be able to crank out something in the next few days. Probably some primers for PCs, plus a primer for DMs.

Also, I'd love to hear about the game once you've got it underway.

I'd be happy to post a brief AP report.

On a side note, I'll also be using some of the setting elements from here:

http://thecityofkings.wikispaces.com/

I'll be hybridising elements of the Orthocracy of  Kaddish and the City of Kings, injecting a little post-Roman/nordic flavour for good measure. It should be pretty cool.

Quote from: Drew;221309I'd be happy to post a brief AP report.

On a side note, I'll also be using some of the setting elements from here:

http://thecityofkings.wikispaces.com/

I'll be hybridising elements of the Orthocracy of  Kaddish and the City of Kings, injecting a little post-Roman/nordic flavour for good measure. It should be pretty cool.

Neato. Is that City of Kings setting your own work?

Ok, I'll set the Ashlands stuff aside for now, and draw up some simple primers for PCs and DMs.

The Dawnlands Primer for PCs:

The Dawnlands is a sword and sorcery setting for D&D 4e. It is a "points of light" setting where civilisation is rare, monsters and other terrors are common, and magic is common. It encompasses an area approximately 1000km across from north to south, and 1250km across from east to west.

Some basic features of the Dawnlands:

An early iron age feel. The city-state is the largest form of political organisation. Populations are small. Leaders rule through charisma, loyalty, and personal power. Plate armour and crossbows are new inventions, as is woodblock printing. Literacy is uncommon. Trade is rare and difficult, but vital. Food and other needed supplies are scarce, and supplies are tenuous. Money is uncommon. A good swordarm can make you chief of a village. Slavery is all too common. People know about the existence of magic, even if they don't know the specifics of how it works.

Places to come from:

The Orthocracy of Kaddish: A city run by priests, mages, merchant-princes and other oligarchs who compete with one another for control of the city, but work together to keep its population from rioting and revolting. The Kaddish are a passionate, inquisitive people that tend towards extremes. The very best and the very worst can be found amongst them. The Kaddish are descended from the Dawnmen, and preserve their ancient art of soulforging, by which they create new races and alter old ones. The Kaddish crave endless variety - new philosophies, religions, art, and even species come from their work. They tend to be human, elf, dragonborn, tiefling or drow.

Dwer Tor: The other city of the Dawnlands. Dwer Tor is run by eladrin and dwarves, organised into specialised castes dedicated to knowledge (the thaumates) and statecraft, trade and warfighting (the optimates) which oversee vast masses of helots. The king of Dwer Tor lets the various colleges and noble families run the city and its many colonies which keep the helots fed. The finest engineering, the best craftsmanship in the Dawnlands, and the richest merchants are all to be found in Dwer Tor. The ruling classes of Dwer Tor are eladrin and dwarves. Helots are usually humans, halflings or elves.

The Nomads of Kadiz: The former rulers of Kaddish, driven out hundreds of years ago by the oligarchs. They have become clans of nomads who wander the plains, controlling the trade between the two cities. The nomads raid relentlessly - for women, for steel, and for cattle. Though savage, they have kept alive the ancient traditions of Kaddish and the Dawnmen, and are no mere barbarians. They are the heirs to the mightiest kingdom ever seen in the Dawnlands, and they will never forget this. The nomads are mainly humans, elves and half-elves.

The Forest Dreamers: The confederation of tribes found in the western rainforests. They are an insular people trying to drive the colonies of Dwer Tor from their land. They share a common experience of the Forest Dream, induced by rituals, drugs, dancing and other ecstatic means. They have contact with many strange people, including the mysterious Salt Men who come from across the sea. They tend to be halflings, elves, lizardmen, and even stranger creatures.

Races to be:

Dragonborn: Created by the oligarchs of Kaddish as a warrior species, Dragonborn are widely employed as soldiers, guards and powerful labourers. Politically, they are usually connected to a handful of temples in the city who worship serpentine and draconic idols. Dragonborn is a good race if you want to play a mercenary, a veteran soldier, or the agent of a powerful oligarch.

Dwarves: Dwarves are traders, warriors and specialists in Dwer Tor, but they can be found across the Dawnlands. They are usually members of the optimate class in Dwer Tor, which means they are skilled in statecraft, administration, and fighting. An optimate is a member of a noble family which normally supports him, but black sheep may be banished, assassinated, or otherwise removed from the city. Dwarves tend to have very brown skin, but light coloured hair. Dwarves are a good race if you want to be a wise leader, a heavily armoured warrior, or a nobleman.

Eladrin: Eladrin came hundreds of years ago from a mysterious kingdom to the south called the Kingdom of the Falling Stars. They are usually members of the thaumate class in Dwer Tor, which specialises in magic, engineering, and other technical skills. A thaumate has a college (an "ecclesia") with which he is associated and to which he is expected to be primarily loyal. A college is composed of a number of families, who may intermarry with members of other colleges. Eladrin in the Dawnlands do not venture regularly into feywild, except if they choose to teleport, and this mode of travel has given Dwer Tor many peculiar architectural features. Eladrin are pale with fair hair. Eladrin are a good race if you want to be an expert on history, magic, mechanics or other esoteric subjects, or if you wish to play a master of magic.

Elves: Elves and humans are not sharply distinguished from one another in the Dawnlands, and elves are considered more closely related to humans than eladrin. Elves are commonly found amongst the Kaddish, the Kadiz nomads, and the Hill Elves, though they are only dominant in the last group. Since the last Hill Elf city was destroyed centuries ago, they are a dying people. Elves tend to have nut brown to copper skin and brown hair in all shades. Elf is a good race if you want to play a self-sufficient wildman, a barbarian, an urban gangster, or the priest of a strange cult.

Half-Elves: Half-Elves are very common amongst the Kadiz and Hill Elves, since the two groups raid one another for slaves and warbrides. They are often used as go-betweens when the two groups meet, and they are fully integrated into their cultures. Half-elves range across human and elvish skin-tones. Half-elves are a good race if you want to play a nomad warrior, or a priest, loremaster or warlock of the clans.

Halflings: Very often the slaves of other races, halfling-run societies are only found amongst the Forest Dreamers. Because of their low status in Kaddish and Dwer Tor, many revolutionaries and heretics are halflings rebelling against their lot. Goblins are halflings who were soulforged long ago by the Dawnmen to hunt for gold and silver. Halflings are a good race if you want to play an outsider in the Dawnlands, a revolutionary or idealist trying to overthrow civilised society, or an ordinary farmhand aspiring to glory.

Humans: The third most prolific race after the hobgoblins and halflings. Humans are mostly found in Kaddish and amongst the nomads, but are present almost everywhere. Humans are closely linked in popular imagination with horses, since they are the most prolific riders and breeders, and were the original discoverers of the secrets of riding. The racial variation amongst humans in the Dawnlands is different than in real life. The Kaddish and Kadiz range from pale to olive-skinned, and are tall and dark-haired, with brown or hazel eyes. The Salt Men are brown-skinned, with pale hair and green, grey and blue eyes. The eastern men from across the desert have skin that is a true black colour, with true black hair and true black irises that blend into their pupils.

Tieflings: Tieflings and drow are the results of the same soulforging technique applied to humans and elves respectively. They are a distinct subculture in Kaddish known as "the Burnt" that is generally very hierarchical, with a few powerful and charismatic leaders organising gangs, factions and companies of followers who carry out their will. Tieflings tend to be magenta, crimson, violet, navy and black-skinned, while drow range from dark-purple to black-skinned. The Burnt are a good race if you want to play a character with divided loyalties, a thief, conman or outlaw, an inventor, artisan or specialist, or an explorer.


Classes to be:

Cleric - Clerics are shamans and holy men who have been granted their power by strange entities known as daimons (distinct from demons). In exchange for a promise to work towards the daimon's goal, the cleric recieves supernatural power. Clerics are distinct from priests, who are specialists in rituals to propitiate the gods, and clerics may venerate any gods that are appropriate. Daimons may be of any alignment, and many have strange and inscrutable goals.

Fighter - Kaddish has a civic militia used to put down riots and wage war on quarrelsome neighbours, as well as specialised schools of fighting that produce expert killers to serve the oligarchs. Dwer Tor's optimates train in warcraft, while mercenaries are just another commodity the city's merchants traffic in. The nomads and the forest tribes both produce expert warriors simply through their ways of life.

Paladin - Just like clerics, Paladins receive their power from daimons, usually militantly-minded ones. They are wandering holy warriors who can use their charisma to whip up frenzied mobs from cowed villagers. They are generally unwelcome in more civilised parts of the world unless times are desperate.

Rangers - Rangers are most common amongst the nomads and forest dreamers where they often start as messengers, diplomats and envoys between isolated settlements. Some of the Kaddish assassin schools teach the combat styles of rangers.

Rogues - Common in cities, rogues are often agents of power lords and oligarchs. Dwer Tor has organised criminal groups, arranged into colleges just like the thaumates, who train new members in stealth, trickery and deception. Revolutionary movements in Dwer Tor and Kaddish are another way that many rogues get their start.

Warlocks - Fey warlocks tend to be found amongst the forest tribes, while star-pact and infernal warlocks are more commonly distributed. Infernal warlocks are especially common in the cities, where even demon worship is tolerated so long as its followers don't challenge the powers that be. Warlocks are very commonly priests of cults as well, moreso than any other class.

Warlords - The study of tactics and strategy is most advanced in Kaddish, where aspiring strategoi may even be given command of a slave platoon for a gladiatorial combat. In Dwer Tor, warlords are generally optimates who carry on family traditions, and they are often battle-tested in the colonies.

Wizard - Wizards are members of a religious tradition called the "Knowing" which supplements other beliefs rather than replacing them. There are three different branches of the Knowing, each of which has its own ritual style. The Logokratonic tradition is most popular in Dwer Tor, and focuses on words of power. The Psychomimetic tradition is Kaddish, and focuses on images, meditation and visualisation. The Sarxian tradition is found amongst the monstrous races and draws power from sacred substances and correspondences.

Some common terms:

The Dawnmen - the founders of the ancient city of Kaddish, now gone. They conquered the Dawnlands long before recorded history, then faded away, leaving only a few wonderful traces of their existence. The Dawnmen seem to have been men and elves, though no one knows for sure what they were.

The Hill Elves - the ancient enemies of the Dawnmen, and later, the Kaddish. They are now a broken, fading people whose ruins dot the landscape of the plains. Once civilised, they are now cannibalistic, superstitious, and obsessed with vengeance. They share many of the customs, myths and culture of the nomads, but the two groups hate one another. Despite the name, Hill Elves are only mostly elves. They also include humans, half-elves, and gnolls. The Hill Elves are a monstrous race.

The Monstrous Races - the peoples who were never conquered by the Dawnmen. Everyone who is not Kaddish, Kadiz, or from Dwer Tor is a member of a monstrous race, even if they live in great settlements or confederations like the hobgoblins, gnolls or forest tribes do.

The Plains of Kadiz - a place of great adventure, the centre of the Dawnlands is covered in tens of thousands of square kilometres of plains. It is dotted with rift valleys, broken land, geyser fields, and other signs of tectonic activity, as well as with many forgotten ruins, strange tribes of humanoids, and terrible monsters. A vast, empty place in which a soul can lose themselves and never be found again if they desire.

Soulforging - rhe process by which the Kaddish create new races, including tieflings, drow, dragonborn, vampires, ghouls, liches, goblins and many other races. It is a state secret, taught only to a few rare individuals selected to be master soulsmiths. The Kaddish rarely use this power wisely, and a common punishment for criminals is a trip to the crucible-creches in the heart of the city.

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How's that for now? It simplifies things a bit, but makes it a bit more accessible, hopefully. I'll write up a DM Primer sometime in the next few days.

Quote from: Pseudoephedrine;221670Neato. Is that City of Kings setting your own work?

Nope, just something I stumbled across whilst scouting for 4e setting material. I like the strong S&S feel it has.