The Eiden Lands

[Lucky]

The Mist has taken its toll on the civilizations that dot Than'dyr's countryside. Vast, unyielding, mysterious; words used to deify a collective mass of waste and destruction, leaving behind a perpetually perplexing scene of ancient debris in its tireless wake. One day bustles a kingdom, hoping to stand against time itself in defiance to its very clockwork face. The next, ruins no more discernible from another mountain of crumbled stone and abandoned king-castles.

Were it not enough to worry the lawman's discerning future, so should the plethora of varying issues that plague any land of Eida. Rumors of necromancers taking an unholy inhabitance within local caverns. Great beasts roaming the trade routes, hunting the least defended caravans for unnatural feasts. Brigands and banditry that grows in alarming power of the tenuous nobles' lands. A dragon cult that wields the power of the unrivaled tempest. Discreet families within the capital city, Markand, that partake in every manner of unscrupulous activity known to sapience and waging their own secret war.

The Age of Heroes is Nigh.

Time and again have we all read the stories of the legends of yore. Wizened spellcasters who could part the skies, frenzied berserkers whose righteous rage will see every mean to an end, even the skulking assassin that can end a war with a single precise strike. They do not exist. At least, not yet. With the eventual rise of every hero comes an equal rival, dragging them down into the void of distant memory. Hope is drowning, and even the most valiant organizations of good are only faint embers in the cold of oppressive darkness.

Become the light, or the mirror that reflects it. Aspiring adventurers. Humble heroes. The people need you. Your beginning might have been mild, it may have been treacherous. Perhaps you seek glory, fame, or fortune. However you heed the call, beware the coming days. Creatures of indeterminate might, prophesied events of the cults, dirty rotten scoundrels will reveal themselves by way of fear, awe, unmatched emotion, and underhanded tactics. Take up arms, heroes. Do what you can to bring determination back to the people. Bring hope to the down-trodden. Bring a golden era of heroes to...

... The Eiden Lands

---

Hello, and welcome to my written homebrew campaign of The Eiden Lands! If you're familiar with those particular words in D&D context, then you'd have a right feeling! I am currently running this campaign for my group of friends, and I'm in the process of revamping the whole world, storyline, and everything. Literally, every detail is to be expanded, adjusted, or changed altogether. What I'm looking for here is something similar, and it will have inspiration from other sources of RP and media to make this as smooth as I can run it.

For now, this is an Interest Check. I do have world details that I will absolutely love to explain, as typing it all out will be rather tedious for me to write and perhaps not-so enthusiastic. Here are a few things I'd like to cover OOC, should you want to express your interest. Excuse the coming wall of "rules."

Rules!

1. All RPG rules to be observed.

2. This will be running somewhat like D&D in terms of skill checks and some combat. If you are unfamiliar with D&D5e (either as a total rookie or veteran of other systems), that's okay! I have plenty of experience in helping out with stats and other relevant details. Whether you are new or experienced will NOT be a factor in my choosing player characters. That being said...

3. I am looking for 3-4 long-term characters. Not 2. Not 5+. Should a character be dropped out for any reason in the future, I will open application submissions and do my best to seamlessly introduce a new arrival.
3A. Character Sheet template will be provided with OOC update. Please do not deviate its function, but I am always happy to see different styles as long as you cover all the points.
3B. Character Sheets must be well-written and thought-out. I reserve the right to request alterations or outright deny should something be unacceptable. This includes proper spelling and reasonable grammar.
3C. One character per user. If you want named characters relevant to your own, we can discuss them for me to run as NPCs.
3D. Liberties taken while writing are welcome, though part of the character creation process I expect questions and discussion to make sure everything lines up.
3E. Characters must want to be adventurers. If you cannot make your character want to travel, fight, explore, and solve problems, then don't expect me to put in twice the effort to make it happen.
3F. Check this part of the list again when the OOC drops for a message to be included in your CS so I know you read everything.
3G. Every official race and class from D&D5e is open for character creation.

4. This is Dark High-Magic. Things are not good, and for the most part the work of a hero will be a long and difficult path. Series of bad decisions/mistakes will lead to consequences, up to and including character death (which I don't take lightly).

5. This is a No-Evil Campaign. Any other alignment combination is welcome, as long as it doesn't serve to disrupt the process of becoming heroic sorts.

6. Introducing the Rumor! Every character submitted must have at least one rumor that will have caught the attention of some local lord. This rumor must be substantial enough to warrant the noble wanting to reach out to you to take care of his people. Rumors can be TRUE, FALSE, or EMBELLISHED. Rumors are also for GM only! Very early on in the story, your character's rumor will be made known to everyone (assuming they don't already know about it). However, only YOU the player will know its authenticity. Rumors will continue to be established during the length of the story, and are not exclusive to Player Characters.

7. Posting requirements are simple. I prefer quality over quantity. Keep up dialogue and progress and any other pertinent information so ensure a proper pace. I'm expecting ~2-3 paragraphs per post, one post a week minimum. Depending on consistent rate of responses, may increase the minimum.

And finally

Some quick details about The Eiden Lands.

Mini Lore!

An Old Copy of Eida, To Be Revised Later

The world is called Eida. It contains a singular megacontinent that spans the world all the way along the hemisphere east to west. Two oceans flank the megacontinent, to the north and south. Think like a Halo, but planet. The starting country is Than'dyr, and like most lands has many different environments and unique biomes and events. Markand is the capital city of Than'dyr, an all-inclusive city to all sorts of species and cultures, building one of the most expansive and magical kingdoms in all of Eida.

I'm excited to see if this sparks any interest! If it does gain any traction, I'll start up a discord along with working on an OOC.

For the time being, all are welcome to join my campaign for purposes of using all available official content. ddb.ac/campaigns/join/30965392249821039

[Timemaster]

@Lucky Hi! This looks quite interesting! Would our characters have to be natives to the islands or can they have come from other lands? Without spoiling the story etc, can you give more details about the purpose of the rumours? As in, will they have any other scope other than what was already stated?

[Dark Cloud]

oof got excited then saw Advanced, looks really cool but I find anything higher than Casual intimidating. Good luck bruv.

[Lucky]

@Lucky Hi! This looks quite interesting! Would our characters have to be natives to the islands or can they have come from other lands? Without spoiling the story etc, can you give more details about the purpose of the rumours? As in, will they have any other scope other than what was already stated?

@Timemaster

Characters may come from distant lands, as shown by the map there are other large countries throughout the world. Than'dyr is simply the starting place as I've got concrete ideas for what's going on there already.

The rumors can work two-fold: A. they serve as a bit of a narrative device that defines not only your character's potential backstory but also their own perception of said rumor, B. can serve as a driving motive for your character. Besides those functions, it's just another bit of fun that shows the things we know about people are usually just what they show/tell us, and can never truly verify its validity.

Also, it's what sets up other PCs and NPCs that may have heard of you before. The more you adventure and rumors spread, the larger your reputation and potential can go. Just make sure they're good rumors ;)

oof got excited then saw Advanced, looks really cool but I find anything higher than Casual intimidating. Good luck bruv.

@Dark Cloud

Well I ask for ~2-3 paragraphs per post. I prefer it to be succinct. If this keeps your interest, then I'd be excited to see what you come up with! Otherwise, I appreciate your stopping by!

[Guy0fV4lor]

I'd definitely want to learn more about the setting details before anything else-- but this seems like it could be neat.

[PatientBean]

This seems like it might be in my wheelhouse. I will express interest, though I would also like to learn more details.

[Lucky]

I'd definitely want to learn more about the setting details before anything else-- but this seems like it could be neat.

@Guy0fV4lor

If you have particular questions, I'm more than happy to answer them. It's a big, open world so I'm easy to work with in terms of character backgrounds and locations.

To broadly answer your question, The Eiden Lands campaign is a long-term heroic adventure where players have full freedom to do as they like. Take any quests that come your way, forge your own path, join any organization, build any relationship. My role is to facilitate all narrative needs, from personal side quests to the overall story. Both generic and unique types of quests will be available, ranging from monster hunting to investigating whole disappearing towns.

As for starting, I will craft an adventurer's guild where the player party, among several NPC parties, will attempt to complete a series of challenges in order to join the guild. If successful, then the group will have access to everything an adventurer needs as opposed to doing all the legwork yourself.

[ERode]

Eyes open for this.

[Dog]

Interested but my English and Grammar may or may not be up to stuff - neverminding my busy schedule at times. If I do decide to throw my hat into the ring then I got ideas for an extremely-stubborn Dwarf with a heart of gold. So, your go-to generic fantasy Dwarf.

[Timemaster]

@Dog Ha! Somehow I knew you'd appear here as well.

@Lucky Based on "adventure where players have full freedom to do as they like", am I correct to assume that if we want our characters to establish their own kingdom, we can?

One more thing, what about Gods? Are we gonna go on the usual DnD Gods or you've got others as well? I'm thinking of a priest character.

[Lucky]

@Dog Ha! Somehow I knew you'd appear here as well.

@Lucky Based on "adventure where players have full freedom to do as they like", am I correct to assume that if we want our characters to establish their own kingdom, we can?

One more thing, what about Gods? Are we gonna go on the usual DnD Gods or you've got others as well? I'm thinking of a priest character.

@Timemaster

Your characters very well could have the ability to establish your own kingdom. It'll take the proper planning, resources, and time, but doable long-run. The focus will be on becoming heroes, first and foremost. Perhaps that will come with leadership and riches as you explore!

I do have a few homebrew gods, but they aren't making an appearance without special prerequisites. I allow any established gods from various dnd settings as a sort of multiverse deal. Clerics are established to have a strong connection with their given domain/deity.

[Timemaster]

Or maybe I'll do something else, not sure. I'll wait for the OCC to start up properly before deciding. All I can say is that I've got 2 ideas for now and that I'm very much interested.

The only problem I've got with DnD is that you've got so many races/classes/stories that can be told to choose from that it's hard to settle on one idea 😅

Maybe I'll bring my Goblin around. Have a proper "From 0 to Hero" story.

[Auz]

For sure interested. I have a character in mind already

[Dragonfly 9]

Is it too late to join?

[DELETED08740]

I'll be interested, but looks like there's a lot of interest; will there be a submission deadline when the OOC goes up?

[Cu Chulainn]

Lots of interests, but I see a few familiar faces here (and one lame one @Guy0fV4lor), so I'll put up interest as well! I think I have a funny rumor in mind for an Archfeylock.

[Vergil]

Well...I'm something of a Scientist myself

[Dog]

Given the number of interests, I say we decide on the players by trial by combat. Or even worse, eating a bowl of nails without the milk.

[Timemaster]

@Lucky Now that I had time to think. Got 2 more questions if that's alright.

1. How...heroic our characters will be pre-IC? Can they already be established heroes in whatever land they come from or are they fully new adventurers that just started their career?

2. What level will our characters start from?

3. Optional question if you can explain here. Can you expand a bit more on combat/stats? If you're gonna explain that in OCC, kindly ignore me.

[Dragonfly 9]

((So, since you want us to be serious and active in the RP, I've decided to make a sort of performance check for this, so you can see how competent of a RPer I am and how much effort I'll put into this!

For context, this is the event that turns into my character's rumor, except this story is how it really happened.))

As Eagle sat atop the tallest building of the small village, he could see it all.

He could see the spirits of the dead chasing the living around, throwing various things at them, and getting into fights with them.

He could see the living trying to resist the spirits, such as a man shielding his children from the arrows a spirit was throwing at them. A young boy punching and kicking through another spirit as he was trying to drown him in the river outside, and two other people trying to stop him as well. A woman, begging and pleading for what looked to be the ghost of her son to stop this, to calm down, to just go home with her and pretend that none of this had ever happened.

He could also see the fresh corpses of the people who had started this whole mess, the soldiers who had managed to slaughter half of the town before being killed themselves. Thankfully, Eagle didn’t see their spirits terrorizing the village as well, but, of course, this wasn’t important.

Right now, Eagle needed to act, to stop all this before more deaths could occur.

And the best way to do that…

Eagle got his flute out of his pocket, and, after pulling up his plague doctor mask a bit to reveal black and white fur, pressed the flute to his mouth.

…Was to play.

Blowing into his flute, Eagle began to play a song, a song that was somber yet hopeful, a song that was bitter yet sweet, a song that was bleak yet inspiring.

He poured all his heart into this song. His music spoke of all his troubles, of all his worries, of all his mistakes.

And yet, it also spoke of a light at the end of the tunnel, that it was okay to be angry and afraid, but in the end, everything was going to be okay, and the spirits, once freed of all their troubles, would live in peace in the afterlife, if they only had the heart to let go of their fear and anger, and move on from it.

The spirits all stopped what they were doing and gathered around Eagle, and, when the song ended, so did their hostility.

Some of the spirits just went immediately to the afterlife after this, but most of them stayed behind for just a moment more, apologizing to and reuniting with their families and helping the living repair the village.

And Eagle was right there along with them, quelling hostilities even more and helping heal the sick as well further helping the spirits move on.

Someone has to do it, after all.