RPTools.net

This thread will be for out of session rping and where I'll post setting information. Also, if you have any setting questions, just ask here.

First what has already been posted in the recruitment thread.

This world takes some elements from Eberron, such as lightning rail and airships with additional magitek elements. Here, magical ability is passed down by blood and is quite rare among most races, but common among others(Eladrin).

Some additional background:
The campaign begins in the nation of Antium, with the militant country of Miletus to the west and the independent Eladrin city-state of Cyrene on an island not far off the southeast coast. Miletus has recently been active in expanding its borders, with most of its attention towards the west and north, though there is fear in Antium that they may soon turn there attention eastward.

Across the ocean to the east, is the Eladrin Kingdom of Lemuria, who within the last century, thanks to the development of their magical Corsair ships, have greatly increase contact and trade with the nations of this continent. At present they are the primary exporter of magical weapons and potions, among other magical/magitek items, and have even begun the construction of lightning rail lines. With this, the noble houses of Lemuria have begun putting their hands in all sorts of affairs, and have even been accused of fostering conflict between nations.

Religion in this world is similar to that of Eberron, with the gods themselves having little direct effect over the world, but with religious organization holding considerable influence.


After session 1:

After jumping off the train, with evening having already arrived, the party settles down to camp for the night. As the group set up, they're guide, the cleric Cahir, couldn't help but keep talking.

“Keep note of the creatures you fought on the train. They come to be known as the Shadow Reapers, although they themselves prefer to be called the Riven. However, most clerics and leaders have found it easier to demonize them and gather people up to slaughter them with the name Shadow Reaper. These are a people who are able to wield a different kind of magic from most, and I'm sure you can guess what kind of magic that is. Their natural talents make them especially skilled at thievery and assassination, something that others have begun noticing aswell...

“After all, how else do you think they managed to board undetected. In dark light, they have the ability to blur, and depending on their own ability, can go from translucent all the way to invisible. While I doubt they'll try to go after us right after a train robbery, we can't be too careful out here.

“They only began appearing within the last few centuries. There is little record of where exactly they came from, and if you believe the old myths, it's said that they're infused with the essence of the demon Rasha, though others suspect that that's nothing more then the rantings of some overzealous clergy. Either way, when they manage to suppress or hide their talents, they'll appear just like normal humans.”

I decided this would be better posted in a thread, then discussed during the session. So here is some dialog from Certa, during dinner. Post any in character responses you wish here.

“If as you say, the kidnapping and bandit raids were put into motion by house Mycenae working along side Miletus, then I think I should explain a few things to all of you. The different noble houses of Lemuria have formed relationships with the nations of this continent. House Seleucos, the house that Verisiel belongs to, and the one you could say I work for, has developed strong relations with the nation of Antium. But in return, the opposing houses, more specifically House Mycenae, has focused on developing strong relations with Miletus.

“Within both houses, there are people who see these nations as tools to hurt the opposing houses. They are willing to start wars between them, to use them as puppets with little regard to their well being. This is exactly what we are seeing now. Other houses have had vested interests in the nations that Miletus has been conquering, and from what you have told us, they are now turning their attention on the larger, and more well defended Antium.”



In a few days, I'll be sending PM's to all of you, rp related. So keep that in mind.

Here are the letters you found on the table:

Dear Cernen li Mycenea,

All permissions have been granted and you are now free to proceed with your archeological expedition in the Capena region. We have arranged for your required funds to be shipped to you which you may use to hire any additional hands or purchase additional tools and materials that you may require. We hope that you'll have a great deal to report on the cultures of the Hispalis, and I'm sure the locals will be interested as well. Just a reminder, anything of religious significance that you dig should be given to the appropriate local priests. After all, the church would like to avoid be viewed as looters among the locals, and even if what you find isn't religious, it is our desire that they eventually be displayed for all to see. Any future communications will be sent through the churches private com orb line to Cyrene, and then sent to you by letter, and please have your letters sent through it as well, until you can set up your own com orb connection to us.

Sincerely

High Priest Eudoxia


Dear Cenen li Mycenea

I must say that I am a bit disappointed in you as late. It has been ages since you have last contacted us, and you still have not set up a direct connection to us with your com orb. I know that this is well within your ability, it shouldn't take long at all. Further, some disturbing rumors have been popping up. Now normally I would flat out ignore such things, but the local priests have started to complain to me. They have complained about the activities of those on your supply routes, and claim that Miletian soldiers have been around your dig site. I am sure that all of this business is simply a misunderstanding of some sort, and I should make it clear that soldiers from either of the two nations should be kept away from both the dig site, and those under you. After all, your location is contested ground, and the last thing we need to do is stir up hostilities between them. It seems that the locals are all on the edge right now, with rumors of disappearing villagers, and increased Reaper activity. Please make contact with the local churches and try to straighten things out with them.

Sincerely

High Priest Eudoxia


Dear Cernen li Mycenea

Six more months have past and you still haven't set up your com orb with us, nor have you even bothered to send us any messages at all. The news that I have been receiving has been steadily growing worse, to the point that people claim to have seen undead among your men. I'm sure that I do not need to remind you that the use of undead is strictly forbidden by church doctrine and grounds for heresy. Even when I have tried to contact your men directly, either by letter, or even sending our own to them, I have been ignored at best, and directly subverted at worse. Your actions have disgraced not only me, but our lord high priest Zephyr as as well. Now, I shall inform you that high priest Cahir is visiting the continent, and I have asked him to investigate your actions personally. It is only a matter of time before he arrives at your location to find out exactly what you are doing over there.<br>

Sincerely

High Priest Eudoxia

I've decided to write up a list of names for every important area/character/group that has come up in the game. Will also include the current status of more well known NPC's.

Nations:

Antium - The nation the game started on. A wealthy, human nation rich with natural resources.

Miletus - Militant human nation that has recently been on the offensive, invading nearby countries and has its eye on Antium

Cyrene - Eladrin city-state located off the south east coast of Antium. Economy focused primarily on trade and takes a policy of neutrality.

Lemuria - Eladrin empire located on a continent across the ocean. While technically a monarchy, the throne holds little actual power, with control in the hands of the six great houses.

Gods:

Karellen: Primary god worshiped by Lemurians.

Rasha: God of Shadow. Worshiped minimally. Associated with the Riven in the eyes of many.

Kord: Worshiped by Leo


Regions:

Capena region. Disputed territory at the southern border between Miletus and Antium. Location of the current ruins.

Currently relevant great houses:

House Seleucos - The house Certa claims to work for. Have strong diplomatic relations with Antium.

House Mycenae - House that seems to be involved with the experiments carried out in the ruins. Strong diplomatic relations with Miletus.

House Praxis - An ally of house Seleucos.

People:

Certa - She owes you all a paycheck. A wealthy human woman residing in Cyrene. Has shown the capacity for using magic. She claims to work for House Seleucos. She claimed that she would be heading to Antiums capital to turn in the prisoner Lanetta.

Verisiel - She initially hired you at the beginning of the campaign. Member of house Seleucos.

Kijani - The annoying noble you were hired to protect on the train ride to Cyrene. Has currently been put out of the way.

Cahir (aka Shifty) - Cleric of the Eladrin god Karellen. Certa has claimed he is a high priest of the church and is unofficially the second most powerful clergy.

Zephyr - Lord high priest of Karellen. Well known as the head of the church.

Eudoxia - High priest of Karellen. His name appeared at the writer of the letters found in the ruins.(see last post).

Lord Sereth - Head of house Seleucos

Lanetta - Prisoner captured from the manor.

Cernen - Cleric of Karellen and member of Housed Mycenae, in charge of the experiments at the ruins. Currently held prisoner by the party.

Altair - Formed the Reaper cult. His followers seem to believe that they are the true children of the god Karellen, and seek to overthrow those who oppressed them.

Arcturus - Father of Vela and Vega.

Vega - Currently at Certa's manor, protected by the Sentry.

Vela – Currently with you, unconscious

Lord Xenophon - Head of house Praxis

Christos - Noble of house Seleucos, previously involved in bid over becoming lord of house Seleucos, before loosing his bid to Sereth. Currently seeking to place his son as heir of house Seleucos.

Sirius - Half Human son of Lord Sereth. Target of assassination.

Thaddeus - Swordmage from Cyrene. Former classmate of Saeros. Claims to be on a mission from Cyrene, currently acting as a bodyguard for Christos.

Updated the names post. Since it felt a bit rushed last time, here is Certa's story about Rasha in a little more detail.

“The god Rasha, also known as the god of shadow, is generally recognized as a force of evil, and worshiped primarily by loons. His worshipers tend to think they can gain power from him, and often form secretive cults around him. Such cults are usually quickly put down once the locals begin to panic. They generally don't gain any actual power from such worship, though in recent decades, as the prevalence of magic capable humans has been increased, there have been cult leaders who claimed Rasha gave them their powers.

“Almost as soon as the Riven began to appear, people have been associating them with Rasha, often calling them his 'children', though the Riven themselves try to avoid it. All of this would be inconsequential had Lemurian society not adopted some other beliefs associated with Rasha into there own mythology. In particular, the story of how Rasha almost destroyed the world.

“In its original form, the story goes that Rasha hated the light, and hated people who lived in the light of the sun, thus he sought to destroy everything. He brought fire down on the cities of man, and blocked out the sun with the smoke of the flames. But before he could finish everyone off, the gods intervened, and together, defeated him. In the Lemurian version, it was Karellen himself who vanquished Rasha.

“With this story in mind, imagine if other Lemurians see Vela transform, or find out about the Reaper involvement in those experiments.”

When I get a better image I will update this post.

Can I get some background info on the Church of Karellen and Lemuria, being my characters heritage, I don't want to stab blindly

Just a little side detail on the friend. This information isn't essential, so you don't have to read it if you don't care. The following is said by Certra.

“Perhaps I should give you a little more information on the person you'll be seeking out. Her name is Mandriva, of house Praxis, and a sister of Xenophon. Before she left, her father was the lord of Praxis. The man was obsessed with his legacy, fathering many children from many women, and forced them to strive to be superior to each other. He looked to house Praxis's history of Artificers, and demanded that his children make a mark on the world with their arts. When none of them met his expectations, he disowned them, and started looking outside his bloodline for an heir.

“He eventually came across a talented young girl named Debian, and with high hopes for her, rescued from potential slavery and adopted her. She exceeded all expectations, and the father saw her as fit to be his heir. During that time, Debian and Mandriva became friends and she managed to convince the father to accept her back into the family. Having an outsider be named heir was seen as an insult to the other children, each of whom had already been mustering support to overthrow the father, and her allowing Mandriva back in only made it worse. Once the father passed away, someone made their move, Debian was murdered, which left Mandriva as the heir. But instead of becoming the ruler of House Praxis, Mandriva disappeared, and took the Amulet of Praxis, the symbol of the House's ruler, with her.

“With no heir left, the children turned on each other, vying for control, with Xenophon eventually coming out on top.

“It is possible that she could use that amulet as a way of controlling Xenophon, or offer some other way to help. She has mentioned to me in the past that she has ways of controlling Xenophon should the need ever arise.

“I wish I could provide something more, but I do believe she can help you.”

Alright, I finally got the chance to write some backstory.

While sitting at the campfire, seeming relaxed and disturbed at once, Tigris decided to let his allies know a little about him.
"So I'm sure you all are curious why a "furry one" like me was all the way out here in Antium. Heh, I don't blame you. It would have been glorious to walk up on such a ferocious battle, *Tigris appears to reminisce to the battle in the harbor,* but my race is really not that uncommon. You see I was born into the warring factions of the far eastern kingdoms, there are many tribes of us, shifters I think you call us. It's just that we dwell in a wilderness that not even the Lemurians have been able to tame. Fighting's what we're bred to do... It's in our blood. Most of the tribe fight differently I do, they prefer to use the will of nature. Myself, well I just like to see my enemies face when I'm ripping through flesh... My kin back home referred to me as "The Wild One"... I was always uncontrollable... *smiles as a memory comes back to him* "The Wild One" and "The Nature Spirit"... Ravis... *Tigris appears pained mentioning the name* He's my younger brother. *glances at Kith* I said I respected fighting for kin, let's just say you and I have a bit in common. *he trails off after addressing Kithri and soon turns over and lays down for bed*

Here are some bits from the book you found. Feel free to ignore if you don't care.

History of Modern Lemuria

We will begin with what is considered by historians to be the time period that defined what we consider to be the modern age of Lemuria, the Ionian war. Also known as the Ionian revolt, it was the end of the age where the title of King of Lemuria was held by the Lord of the times dominant house, and the brief periods of warring states, where the six houses would fight for control.

Immediately prior to the war, the monarchy was held by House Mycenae, who managed to almost wipe House Seleucos out of existence upon ascending to power. Many of the members of the then destroyed house were forced to splinter into a large collection of house minor, each of varying loyalties. However, there were still some survivors who were attempting to restore there house, and even over throw the ruling Mycenae.

Most of the Seleucos efforts were in vain, with few real victories, with most of their efforts focused on avoiding complete annihilation. This was until their leader, Nileas, caught the eye of the Lord of House Praxis, who saw Seleucos as a tool for their own conquest of Lemuria. The lord of Praxis believed that different methods were needed to bring down Mycenae. He put his eye on the human lands under the domination of Lemuria.

Human resentment of Lemuria in the conquered lands was well known, and the ruling Mycenae took every effort to ensure any apparent threat was dealt with swiftly and brutally. To aid in this, Mycenae attempted to play the subjugated human nations against each other, working with old prejudices and even using human armies, both to bolster Lemurian numbers, and to ensure that the oppressors had a human faced, as opposed to a Lemurian one.

The nation the lord of Praxis decided to use was the human nation of Ionia, who were technically independent, but in reality were a puppet state, whose king was seduced by promises of wealth and power beyond what his nation alone could provide. This king was resented by his people, all of whom saw him as a traitor. The lord of Praxis sent Nileas and his followers to Ionia in the hopes of fermenting a rebellion.

In Ionian Nileas met Leius, a prince of the nation on the run from his siblings fighting to become the successor of the king. Nileas offered to help Leius depose of his father. Upon agreeing, the two managed to succeed in a series of event I will not go into. Nileas encouraged Leius to use his new found power to stand up against Lemurian rule, which immediately provoked a reaction.

The king of Lemuria chose to respond in a massive show of force, in the hopes of this event serving as an example. He gathered his forces, and those of the great houses, to put down the revolt and wipe Ionia from existence

Upon hearing of the army heading his way, Leius was on the verge of surrendering on the spot, but with the urgings of Nileas that everything would be ok, he sent his human forces out to meet the Lemurians.

It was immediately prior to the battle that the lord of Praxis made his move. Instead of standing back, he sent his forces on a surprise attack against the Mycenae forces, and promptly fell back before Mycenae could react. As soon as the Praxis forces withdrew, Leius sent his army forward. Upon seeing this, the other houses knew exactly what had happened, and stood back as the Ionian army descended upon the the disorganized Mycenae.

If anyone wants to, you can ask any questions you have for the freed prisoner in this thread, and I'll post her response here. Or pm me if you want to do it in private.

Further excerpts from the book you found, if anyone cares to read it.

History of Modern Lemuria

Prior to the Ionian revolt, the dominant Houses below the ruling Mycenae were House Ptolemia, allies of the Mycenae in the previous period of warring states, and House Praxis. The two remaining houses, apart from the then destroyed House Seleucos, were House Cassander and House Lysimachus. These two weaker houses held little hope of direct conquest, and were forced to ally with the other houses with the prospect of increasing their territory should they choose the winner.

After he made his move against the king, the Lord of Praxis knew he could only count on House Cassander for support, with Seleucos still yet to reform. The combined might of Ptolemia and Lysimachus were already stronger, and he still had the remnants of Mycenae attempting to maintain their power.

He had made preparations ahead of time to deal with the Mycenae, through the use of his elite guards and mercenary assassins, in an act that normally would have sent the rest of the houses upon him, he attempted to take out as many high ranking house Mycenae members as he could. This was enough to cripple the ruling house to the point where the others smelt blood.

The next step was two fold, to take the capital city of Lemuria, and force House Ptolemia into submission. In order to avoid rousing suspicion, he couldn't mobilize the bulk of his forces beforehand, though he was still able make some preparations which he hoped would allow him to strike quickly and gain the upper hand. Unfortunately for him, he was wrong. His forces only managed to make it part of the way into Ptolemia territory before they were slowly pushed back, and what he thought would be a quick conquest turned into a long and bloody war.




After Leius attacked the the king of Lemuria, he and Nileas parted ways, as Nileas still wished to to rebuild house Seleucos, and intended to use the chaos of Lemurian civil war as a distraction to the other houses. Leius instead sought to free and unite the nearby human lands under Lemurian domination. As the civil war dragged on, Lemuria was unable to project its power, and the conquered lands were able to rise up with little resistance. Leius used his influence gained as the one who slew a Lemurian king to make them unite under his rule

Five years later, the war was still going strong, and the Lord of Praxis found himself on the loosing side. House Ptolemia was moving onto his position, and House Cassander had backed off, hoping to win favor of the clear winner. However, the Lord of Praxis was able to see a glimmer of hope. He was well aware of Leius efforts, and sought to use this new unified human nation to bring him victory. Convincing Nileas that a victorious Ptolemia would mean the death of the restored house Seleucos, he told Nileas to meet with Leius, and tell him to send his army upon Ptolemia.

Ever since he killed the king of Lemuria, Leius feared Lemurian retribution, and the Lord of Praxis used this fear, and offered his word that Praxis would prevent anything from happening to him, should he destroy Ptolemia.

Upon hearing the words of Nileas, Leius mobilized his army under the banner of the Kingdom of Ionia and sent them to conquer Ptolemia. With Ptolemia focused on Praxis, the invasion was a resounding success. But to the Lord of Praxis's dismay, the invasion didn't stop there. Leius followed the advice of his generals, and continued to move his army forward, towards the lands of house Cassander, and then put the city of Lemuria itself under siege. The army Leius managed to gather was larger then that of any individual house, armed with the magical weaponry given to the puppet nations formerly under Lemurian rule, and most of all, weren't worn down from years of war. If the city of Lemuria managed to fall, it would have symbolized the conquest of the entire nation by Humans.

This served as a wake up call to the remaining houses, all of whom saw human conquest as the gravest of insults to Lemurian pride. At the same time, they knew that they would only have a chance unified, and none were willing declare another house as ruler. So a compromise was reached, a House Minor was elevated as sort of a placeholder monarchy, one all the houses could agree to rally under.

But there was a problem, Nileas was unwilling to fight against Leius, and insisted that they try to end this peacefully. That all they should just agree not to take revenge on Ionia. With this objection, the lord of Praxis saw that Nileas was no longer of use, and needed to be dealt with. He told Nileas to meet with Leius to try to reason with him. Under the Kingdoms official history of these events, upon meeting each other again the two were killed by an ambitious Human general. But the more prevalent belief among scholars is that it was Nileas's own body guard, acting under the order of the Lord of Praxis.

Regardless, with Nileas gone, a new heir to Seleucos was chosen. As a last minute decision to ensure unity, the Houses agreed to redraw territory to bring each House into an artificial balance of power. The combined Lemurian army was able to take advantage of the discord caused by Leius death, and drive the humans back.


After the war, no one expected the new monarchy to last. But at the same time, the Houses were far to weak to take any aggressive action, but instead focused on rebuilding. The newly drawn borders, designed to appease the weaker houses, prevented any of the great houses from gaining enough of an edge in the later 200 years. Most military action was instead directed towards the land Lemuria lost under the civil war.

Ionian suffered the worst of it. The formerly united nations divided once again without Leius. And now it wasn't just about conquest, but about pride Not long after the war, the houses agreed to a unified campaign against Ionia. The capital was burnt to the ground, the fields salted, and all surrounded lands divided among the great houses, who no longer acted as a unified country, but as 6 individual nations.

Each house still sought a way to overcome the others. Praxis began focusing intensively on their Artificers, hoping one of them could create something that could turn the tide in their favor. Mycenae on the other hand, sought gain control of the now autonomous church of Karellen. It was through these, that the seeds of the next war were sown.

I'm creating a new writeup on nations, places, people, etc of this setting. The information should be more up to date then the previous. Info is divided by region.

Not all of this information would be known by the newer PC's, though it can still help out the players themselves.

If you want anything clarified or expanded upon, just ask me.

Western Continent:

Religion:
The people of the western continent primarily worship a polytheistic pantheon. The exact gods worshiped vary from place to play, and race to race. Attempts have been made by the church of Karellen to convert people in the region, with some level of success. A portion of the converts have simply begun to worship Karellen alongside their other gods.

-Rasha: A god of cult status. Considered to be the god of shadow, and force of evil. People often associate him with the Riven.

-Some information of Rasha given to you by Certa: “In its original form, the story goes that Rasha hated the light, and hated people who lived in the light of the sun, thus he sought to destroy everything. He brought fire down on the cities of man, and blocked out the sun with the smoke of the flames. But before he could finish everyone off, the gods intervened, and together, defeated him. In the Lemurian version, it was Karellen himself who vanquished Rasha. “

Nations:

Antium, a primarily human nation located on the eastern edge of the continent. They are rich in natural resources, and conduct extensive trade, both on and off shore. At war with with the nearby nation of Miletus.

Notable People:

-General Marius: National Hero of Antium, and hailed as a military genius The party has not met him, but did foil a plot by him to use a specially designed arcane poison on the main river of Miletus in an attempt to gain an upper hand in the coming war.



Miletus, a militaristic nation, known for their powerful army. Much of their strength has come from recently conquered lands.


Cyrene, an independent city state of Eladrin, located off the south east coast of Antium. The city itself floats over the water. Originally populated by Lemurian refugees and powerful Lemurian Mages seeking a way out of the Ionian war, 300 years ago.


Regions:

Capena: Disputed territory at the southern end of the continent, on the borders of Antium and Miletus. Location of the ruins containing the orange orb.




Eastern Continent

Lemuria: The dominant nation on the eastern continent. Ruled by Eladrin, and controls a significant amount of land. While technically a monarchy, true power is held by the Six Great Houses, who often act as independent entities.

Houses important to the main plot:

House Seleucos: An ally of the nation of Antium, and supposed employer of Certa.

-Lord Sereth: Ruler of House Seleucos. In a race that can live past 200 years, Lord Sereth is very young, seeming to be in his early 20's. Known to have enemies within his house, vying for his position.

-Sirius: The young, half-Eladrin half-Human son of Lord Sereth. While technically the heir, he is not considered such by the vast majority due to his impure blood. He has been the victim of previous assassination attempts, one of which was foiled by the party. Currently in Cyrene being tutored by a former PC( Orion )


House Praxis: An ally of House Seleucos

-Lord Xenophon: Ruler of House Praxis. Managed to acquire his position after a long and bloody battle for control, following the disappearance of the soon to be ruler Mandriva.

-Mandriva: Originally designated to become the ruler of House Praxis, she disappeared immediately before taking the position. While some suspect that she was assassinated, she is currently alive and well in the more remote and mountainous regions of Antium. She has recently agreed to help the party against Lord Xenophon


House Mycenae: Involved in many activities that the party has attempted to undo, including the magical experiments taking place in the Capena Ruins. Also an ally of the nation of Miletus.

-Selena: A powerful figure within House Mycenae. Ever since the bandit camp, Kithri has developed an interest in her.

Other less plot significant Lemurian Great Houses.

House Ptolemia

House Cassander

House Lysimachus

Religion of Lemuria:

Karellen is the dominant god in the religion, canonically worshiped monotheistically. The church of Karellen is the central religious authority in Lemurian, an autonomous organization since the Ionian War. The church itself has some fragmentation within the clergy, whose beliefs range from extremist conservatives, to far more moderate and open clergy.

-Lord High Priest Zephyr: Leader of the church of Karellen. The party has met him first in peaceful conditions in Lemuria, and in a more confrontational case in the ruins of the black orb.

-High Priest Cahir: Unofficially the second most powerful figure in the church. He has had several run ins with the party. He interacted with the party in a polite manner, but has given many reasons for distrust, earning the nickname of “Shifty” from Kithri

Other people of Importance:

-Certa: Employer of the party. She is a woman who appears to be in her 20's, and has shown to be quite skilled in magic, something unusual for humans. She lives in Cyrene, in a large and expensive looking house. Unusually well connected for someone of her status. She technically works for House Seleucos, although she claims to be an independent party.


Riven: Also known as Reapers in a derogatory sense, they are humans with the ability to use Shadow Magic. Due to their talents, they are often distrusted, seen as creatures of evil. Their natural talents make them exceptionally skilled as thieves and assassins.

Important Riven:

-Altair: Leader of a riven cult. He recently declared war on Lemurian during the shadow monster attack on a Lemurian Church. Frequently at odds with the party, he has led the Riven who attacked the group, responsible for kidnapping Vela's father, and using Vela for his own ends. He is responsible for Vela's current state.

-Arcturus: Vela's father, and Riven Clan Leader. Last known to have been kidnapped by Altair, although his current state is unknown.


The Magic Orbs: A collection of powerful, glowing, magical orbs. Each orb seems to have a different color and it is unknown exactly how many there are. Cahir claimed there to be 7 of them, one for each of Karellens disciples and one for Karellen himself, although this doesn't explain the existence of a black orb.

-Orange Orb: Found in ancient ruins in the region of Capena. When the party reached this location, it was inhabited by a strange alliance of Miletian soldiers, Lemurian mages, and Riven under Altair. This site seemed to have been used for magical experiments on humans. The Lemurian mages under appeared to be part of the church, although according to letters found at the site, the more powerful figures of the church were unaware of what they were doing. Products of these experiments included a collection of kids whose minds seemed to have been warped, and granted magical power. Others were a collection of Miletian soldiers who were being turned, with their own consent, into some form of magic infused super soldier.

The Orange Orb itself appears to have been used on Vela by Altair, bringing her into her current state. In front of the orb was a strange humanoid statue. The energies of the orb made it too dangerous to approach and it was left in its spot.

There were a group of mechanical Sentries, that seemed to be guards of the orb. A strange crystal with warding properties was used to restrain the movement of the Sentries. When Cahir arrived, he took this crystal, giving the Sentries free reign of the ruins, as his way of closing off access to the area.

-The White Orb: Located in the central Church of Karellen. Unlike the Orange orb, this orb radiated very light magical energy, with a peaceful glow. It was safe enough to touch.

-The Black Orb: This orb was found deep in a nameless ancient underground ruin. The orb was guarded by a strangle, glowing magical creature who identified herself as a “copy of Nyx”. After defeating her, her corpse crystallized and reanimated as the PC Ruby.

Upon finding the Black Orb, the party was confronted by Lord High Priest Zephyr, with three Templar escorts. Zephyr demanded the orb be given to him. Thanks to some action taken by the orb itself to disable Zephyr, and the heroic sacrifice of the PC Leo, the party was able to escape with the orb.

In the library, you managed to find a note on one of the tables. While you haven't had a chance to go through everything the Riven you caught was suppose to collect, those who bothered to did get the chance to read this note.

"I am writing this to serve as a warning. First I ask you to take note of the current whereabouts of those who claim to be on our side. Despite the important work of the coming weeks, they are nowhere to be found. Zephyr has locked himself away in the lower levels of this temple, in a place few of us dare to go. While our other patrons, including Cahir have not alone stayed away from us, they have not even made contact for at least a week. With this pointed out, it is important that we remember what they public say of our sect. Zephyr has always been critical of us, and despite his private claims to support us, this would make it easy for him to turn against us.

"Him doing this would fit in exactly with our ways of doing things. We avoided participating directly in the experiments in Capena, with the orange orb, but instead looked for others to unknowingly do our work for us. And in the end, we abandoned them and let the wrath of the church destroy them once that group of adenturers we all heard so much about brought them in. With what I have pointed out, I believe it is a very real possibility Zephyr is preparing to do the same thing with us. Some of us have already begun to notice the reaper scouts in the area, and this could very well be how he goes about it. It is a possibility that Altair could have been working for Zephyr all along, despite him appearing to have betrayed us. Think back to when he was among us, he was practically Zephyr's disciple, how else could you explain such a complete change of heart.

"Zephyr's past denouncement would make it especially easy for him to dispose of us completely. Those not killed here would be accused of heresy, he would say we abandoned Karellen in favor of the demon Rasha, and use our base of operations as proof. Then we would be hunted down by the clergy. Anything we say otherwise would be disguarded as lies.

"We must stay vigilante."

In one of the journals, you found records of the lords of each Lemurian great houses. Feel free to post any RP responses to this, or the previous post within this thread.


Lord Xenophon of House Praxis: He is aware of our activities and most likely has spies within our ranks. There is no chance of persuading him to cooperate on ideological grounds, and as he is well aware of how important the orbs are, there is little to no chance of us being able to make a deal with him. He is far too cautious for us to be able to assassinate him. We must exercise extreme caution with him, and rely on misdirection.

Lord Venier of House Mycenae: As far as we can tell, he has been deceived as of our true intentions. We have easily been able to trick him into supporting the experiments in Capena, and allowed him to believe he deceiving us. His goal in this is nothing more then his own power, and allowing House Mycenae to regain the Lemurian throne. His daughter Lady Selena is taking an active role in his plotting. Given Venier's age, it is only a matter of time before he is naturally removed from the picture.

Lord Sereth of House Seleucos: His true motivations are a mystery to us. From what we can tell, he is well aware of our actions, and all attempts to cut a deal with him have failed. While we cannot confirm it, there is a high probability that he possesses the blue orb. We shouldn't discount the chance that he gave it to the human Certa to look after. It may be prudent to take aggressive action with her, since even if she doesn't have the orb, Sereth has surely shared that information with her. Sereth's half-blood son, Sirius, is a disgrace to the purity of the great houses and should be eliminated in short order. However, Zephyr has ordered us to refrain from taking action against him.

Lady Aleramici of House Cassander : She is aware of our actions and holds strong and vocal opposition to our sect. Luckily, we've been able to foil her attempts at infiltrating us. Provided we don't let our guard down with her, we should be able to avoid having House Cassander become a threat.

Lady Sanudo of House Lysimachus: She is apparently aware of our actions, but is under far too much pressure, both from House Cassander, and within her own House Lysimachus. She is currently not a threat.

Lady Pallavicino of House Ptolemia: She is old and complacent. All of her focus is on material pleasures and does little to improve House Ptolemia's standing. We must keep an eye her possible heirs, its only a matter of time before one decides to assert themselves into her position.