Wonders above, wonders below; about us all is madness.
Twenty years ago, a star fell from the night sky and struck the Ebirian Island of Gea.
The starfall wiped out human life on the island, although the Gean Princess was away at the time and survives to this day. Before the clouds of dust had even settled, foul monsters began to crawl up from the depths of the earth and claim the newly-formed valley for their own. Worse, shards of the star itself are scattered throughout the impact site and warp reality in unpredictable ways.
The other Ebirian Princes did their best to reclaim the island. They built a wall and a fortified keep to contain the worst of the monsters, and made some headway. But when the goddess Ebir died thirteen years ago, it threw the entire peninsula into chaos, and the project to reclaim the Scar collapsed.
Just over a year ago, a paladin of Kesh (scandalously converted from the worship of Ebir) reclaimed the Keep, and has since sent out a call to brave souls throughout the islands -- come help civilization retake Gea!
The Principalities
The island chain has a mild Medeterranian climate, and as such is temperate.
Ebir was the goddess of Mystery, Invention and the Arts, so prior to her death, the culture of the Ebirian Principalities was refined and artistic, with creativity, craft and inventiveness held in the highest possible esteem. Leonardo DaVinci would have been the ultimate Ebirian culture-hero.
The Principalities are a set of dominions granted by popular acclaim to the greatest and most worthy citizens -- a meritocracy as determined by Ebir herself, although there was usually some form of public input taken by her priesthood. Principalities were usually for life, although a fall from grace or the rise of a new hero could also end a ruler's reign.
Since Ebir's death, civilization in the islands has cratered into pockets; points of light in an encroaching darkness. The shipping and mercantile trades have mostly fallen to piracy, and those who still believe in the old values are by necessity tough, hardened adventurers like yourselves.
The worship of Ebir has not died out, despite her death, and most religious people still follow the old ways as best they can recall them.
The Keep and the Wall
Earlier attempts to contain the evil now living in the Starfall Valley included a wall that ran North to South dividing the valley from the remainder of the island. A walled keep was also built, but when Ebir died, it was abandoned, its head priest losing her grip on sanity and leading its fighting men charging to their deaths into the night.
Some time later, a band of mercenaries calling themselves the Six Swords of Fortune cleared the keep of monsters, and set it up as a base of operations for pirates, bandits and other ne'er-do-wells.
A year ago, a paladin of Kesh by the name of Helios Gris received a mandate from the surviving Princess of Gea and led a band of men against the Six Swords of Fortune, killing several, and driving the rest from the island. He has since put out a call to all heroes of Ebir -- help civilization cleanse the Starfall Blight!
NPCs of the Outer Bailey
- Benwick of Ebir: Inventor, artist and wandering priest of Ebir; rosy-cheeked and jolly
- Rol and Horst: his attendants
- Bergen the Smith: Possibly the world’s skinniest metal-smith
- Chendera: Priestess of the Seven, lay-cleric to the faithful and degenerate gambler
- Fallek: Grey-haired and grouchy Corporal of the Guard
- Ferdinand Ronni: A former adventurer and current loan-shark
- Gorn Hammerfall: Newly-rich Captain of the Watch; master of siegecraft and engineering
- Grelda: Elderly provisioner and famous herbalist
- Bosco: Her quarrelsome husband
- Kendon Longstrider: The impressively mustachioed commander of the Outer Bailey
- Mother Aran: Buxom brewmistress and proprietor of the Stumbling Giant
- Nerrin Silverhand: Keeper of the Travellers Inn, would starve himself to save a copper
- Squint Spiralgleam: The jeweler with an aristocrat’s air
- Syradon: A silent and unassuming scholar
- The Gloaming: Hooded and mysterious wizard of Lower Ar
- Thing: A brass statue of a minotaur, on endless patrol
NPCs of the Inner Keep
- Lord Helios Gris: A dour and taciturn convert to Kesh
- Garric Blackoak: Sergeant of the Guard; a hot-headed veteran of many battles, loved by none
Shadows of the Past
- The Six Blades of Fortune: Legendary bandits and former owners of the keep
- Greysen Ramthane: Leader of the Six Blades, fled into the Starfall Valley, believed dead