Setting
Welcome, warriors, to the land of Stakkenhortd. Be under no illusion: it's not a very nice place. We have werewolves and vampires and geists and every other imaginable horror in the world, all thanks to one thing. You know why this year is 991? It's because 991 years ago, the great witch Neadezn, the Great King's secondborn, cursed her father's kingdom with her dying breath. Her hatred fueled the spell nearly as much as her arcane skill, and the curse has not faded to this day. In fact, the suffering it has caused only seems to make it more powerful.
It all started with the King's first children. Stakkenhortd was once a great empire, ruled by a wise and powerful king. However, his eldest son and his only daughter, Sangebast and Neadezn, grew envious of him. In secret at first, they gathered their strength, stealing relics, learning magic, and forming pacts with dangerous beings. Eventually, they led a strike against the Great King's lands. He was shocked by the betrayal, and one day soonafter locked himself in his tower, never to leave. The youngest son of the king, Echaltet, took charge, desperately defending against the hordes of devils, the undead remains of those killed, and even former allies magically dominated by Neadezn. Despite his incredible talent and skill, he was not good enough. In a last ditch attempt to save his father's kingdom he led an army of knights to the heart of his siblings' territory, where they attempted to kill his brother and sister. They first encountered Sangebast, who destroyed almost the entire force before attempting to kill Echaltet. However, Echaltet was saved at the last moment by a knight named Callav, and with a sudden spur of momentum the pair managed to destroy Sangebast. The remaining knights then moved on to Neadezn, whose mind-affecting magic made numbers only a disadvantage. After being forced to kill their fellows or be killed by them, only Echaltet and Callav remained, both too mentally strong to be charmed. Echaltet was badly injured, but the pair killed Neadezn and freed Stakkenhortd from her power - or so they thought. Neadezn's last breath was spent uttering a curse upon the continent. Echaltet's was spent naming Callav his successor, who used the Silver Throne's power to save the city of Adapost from the curse. The Throne was a powerful artifact, but even it couldn't fully dispel the curse.
The results of her curse are great both in number and in severity. The most notable have been increases in the populations of monsters such as those I have already described, but perhaps more disturbing was the appearance of entirely new monsters. Most common among those are the Deznafil, slim and slight predators that take after the witch, and the Sangafin, who take after her stronger and tougher elder brother, also long dead. Aside from those, well, the land has gotten harsher. The weather is unpleasant at the best of times, farming has become difficult, and as a result, the vast majority of people have to provide for themselves, working the land or finding another source of food. This may be a direct result of the curse, or simply a normal reaction to hard times, but there are more and more of the wrong kind of people out here. from those who just want to survive, to the intelligent but cruel, to the simply insane, it seems as though there are far more people who would bring harm upon others than there used to be. Even the normal, decent folk are often cynical and pessimistic, though you can't really blame them.
I imagine that by now, you're wondering how it is that things can be so bad for us yet we still survive. There is a group of people called the Krusczek. When a family can't afford to support itself, its members will often donate a baby to the Krusczek, who will undergo alchemical mutations, mysterious blood rites, and depending on the order, may even be infected with lycanthropy or forge a pact with an otherworldly creature. The result is a dangerous, often unstable warrior who leads a life dedicated to destroying monsters. Many do not survive mutation, many are killed in battle, and many become unstable and have to be put down. Less than one in ten survive to 30 years old.
For the people in the rural areas of Stakkenhortd, the Krusczek are their only defence. However, there is one place in Stakkenhortd which they never have to protect: Adapost, the Silver City. On its own small island about a mile from the mainland, to the east, Adapost lies entirely safe from harm. Wielding the power of the Silver Throne, Callav managed to dispel the curse from Adapost, but only Adapost. It is a center of wealth, technology, and culture, perhaps unique in the continent in these regards. The people in there are considered weak and naive by the rest of the population, but this doesn't stop them enying them; the safety provided by Adapost's mighty walls is worth almost any price. However, entry is extremely difficult, as even once confirmed not to be a doppelganger or a demon, extremely stringent psychological testing takes place to ensure you aren't a would-be criminal or other infiltrator that would cause harm to the city. Some people even believe this is not a test at all; they say this is a process that brainwashes the subject into forgetting all ideas of hatred or narcisism.
There you have it, friends. I've little more to say of this world, though I certainly could not say all. If you have any questions, feel free to ask.
Crime? Well, there's no shortage of small-time criminals. People who can't or don't want to work often turn to petty thievery to survive, and banditry is fairly common as well (though the bandits often have it as bad as the people they're robbing). The reeves that run the villages and towns in Stakkenhortd aren't criminals in the strictest sense of the word, but more than a few abuse their power, not unlike certain nobles in Adapost - both groups seek wealth and power while hiding behind a false front of piety. There are also a number of wizards in the world, most of whom isolate themselves from society. I don't know what goes on in their towers, but they could probably get away with quite a lot without anyone knowing. But perhaps the best way to find a criminal is simply to follow where the money leads. And that means Adapost. Smuggling people and objects in and out is both extremely difficult and extremely well-paid.
Thankfully, most diseases have been kept under control by the work of clerics, druids, and other healers. Even so, the Azarac swamp near the centre of the continent is home to plenty of water-bourne diseases. There are plenty of mosquitos there, which are just another vector. There have been a few outbreaks of smallpox in the west, including one that ended less than six monthes ago, but, as I said, clerics and their ilk have stopped these from spreading far. Of course, there are number of creatures which intentionally spread disease, thereby ignoring the natural order, usually just for the sake of making people suffer. Hags, and certain demons are the most common causes of this.
Map
The Game
This will be a game of Dungeons and Dragons, fifth edition, taking place in the continent of Stakkenhortd, an original setting described above.
- Blood hunters are allowed, but they come with significant setting baggage (they are the Krusczek, described in Setting).
- Gunslingers and the Firearm Specialist feat are also allowed.
- Feats will be used, as well as multiclassing, if players choose to follow either of those routes.
- Players will start with 1st level characters.
- Content from the Player's Handbook is fine. You may also use content from Unearthed Arcana, a compendium of which is here. However, use this at your own risk, as if I find anything you use to be overpowered (or otherwise make the game unenjoyable for other players) I will ask you to change it.
- I have no upper boundary for players: invite your friends, your family, your dog if you like.
- I do request a reasonable level of writing from my players. A good-sized paragraph, mostly correct spelling and grammar, and at least an attempt to roleplay interesting characters is all I ask.
- In terms of character naming, natives of Stakkenhortd should have names inspired by Eastern European styles. I'm not going to pretend I know much about it, I expect anyone genuinely from the area would laugh at my unawareness, but as with anything else, I would like you to give it a shot.
- I don't mind what you use to share your character sheet, as long as it's visible to all of us and has everything it needs. Same goes for dice.
- Ability scores are generated by rolling 4d6, summing the highest 3, and assigning that to an ability score.
- Evil characters are cool, as long as they done properly.
- Variant humans, again, are allowed.
- Any questions you have will both be answered in a post and in this list, for easy access later on.
Pronunciations
Stakkenhortd: STAK-en-HORD
Neadezn: NEE-ah-DEZ-un
Krusczek: KRUS-chek
