The state of a wartorn world
A world at war
Three years have passed and the world have changed. The dead number in the tens of thousends and whole kingdoms have been destroyed or have been reduced to nothing more than a squabbling provinces. What caused this event. Well the Lawbringers, our former party, failed to slay the upcoming god Vespian Thoon but managed to open the portal to his realm in the plane of madness. Once opened Thoon fed upon the energy of both planes and woke from his thousend year stasis-slumber. Awake once more he absorbed enough energy from both planes to challenge the gods of Toril in power and entered the realms.
As he strode into the realms he tore a rift between the planes and a shockwave of madness and death followed. As the party had learned, the energy of the plane of madness was considered unnatural to faerun and therift between the planes created by the emeging god Thoon caused a 400 mile shockwave which drove thousends into madness. But the worst was to come!!! The cursed lands as they came to be known were covered in a blanket of oily darkness negative energy which animated the fallen and they in turn attacked the living.
Fist hit were the Bedine tribesmen of Araunoroch who almost to a man died of starvation and infighting due to the madness, and those who survived had to fight the undead hordes who were unhindered in the searing heat. Their civilization fell in one fell swoop.
Firstly Thoon traveled to Dweomerheart, home of the gods Azuth and Velsharoon. There he challenged and quickly slew the demidgod of the undead, Velsharoon, in the battle of Rattling Bones. He usurped his portfolios and worshippers and became a true god of Faerun. Then he withdrew to his home in the plane of madness as he were bound by the laws of the overgod Ao. But the wheels have been set in motion and soon countless undead and mad farspawned creatures swarmed through the rift to faerun joining the fight.
Tired of the boresome tactics of mercantile supremacy the arch lich Szass Tam and de-facto ruler of Thay quickly allied his forces with the Thoonac empire and all over the realms the varoius cities containing a thayan enclave exploded in violence and death. Several burned to the ground and especially the sembian cities were hit hard. A cunning necromancer named Rall Tharr burned down Saerloon and marched his army of undead at Selgaunt who quickly capitulated. Several other sembian cities were hit and they are pressed to retake Selgaunt from the Thayannecromancers. The armies of Thay overran the border to Thesk reducing the kingdoms to petty city states struggling to survive. Rashemen and Aglarond have not been attacked but are massing armies near the borders awaiting the next move from Thay and Szazz Tam.
The dales were also hit hard as the shockwave targeted most of the western dales. Shadowdale is in ruins and Elminster have vanished. Refugees are swarming cormyr and just keeping one step ahead of the undead, once former friends and family but now wanting only the destruction of the living.
The City of shade was caught unaware and its citizens driven mad. Infighting and bloodshed in the former netherese enclave caused their leader Telemont to flee araunoroch. They flew east and destroyed Zhentil Keep and subjugated the cities of Hillsfar and Mulmaster levitating over the sea of fallen stars in their newly conquered Empire of Shadows.
The lich-king Zhengyi if Vaasa arose once again and have launched an attack on the realm of Damara in the north. Again allying his forces with Thoon.
The sea of fallen stars have fallen into the hands of the pirate of the isles. Unknown persons ( the party) have slain all who would oppose Thoon and the rest were eager to sail forth to kill and plunder in the name of Thoon. The fleets of the surrounding states are busy defending the ports and have all but fled the open sea.
The vampire lords of westgate allied themselves with Thoon even earlier than Thay, eager to claim new territory. Once hidden they took control of the city and seeing the problems in Sembia and Cormyr they marched and took Teziir, Ilipur and Pree in one swift attack procaliming the new territory under the protection of the Westgate Allience.
Larloch old and powerful, arch lich and Netherese survivor, saw Thoon as a fellow netherese and shared Thoons hatred of the living. A treaty was brokered and soon 100.000 thousend undead clawed their way to fearuns surface. They were led by liches and vampire necromancers and portals were created. The city of Baldurs Gate didn´t know what hit it!!! The siege lasted 2 months and then the city was razed to the ground and its surviving citizens slain and animated. An army from The Silver Marches and Waterdeep tried to lift the siege but the army was ambushed. Malkizid the deceiver, once Solar and duke of hell desended upon the army from the rear. With him were yugoloth and exiled devils and demons brought under the iron fist of the great fiend. Khelben Blackstaff fell, his head ripped off by the mighty and terrible archfiend. Malkizid was later crowned emperor of the Empire of Shattered minds which the cursed lands have been named.
Before the attack Khelben had lost his true love Laerel of the seven sisters in an attack upon Thoon himself. They, alongside Dove Falconhand, Qulie veladorn, Alustriel and the knights of Myth Drannor penetrated the cursed lands and assulted Thoon in his own realm. The battle was furious but in vain. Dove and Qulie and Laerel were killed and the rest fled Thoons wrath realizing what he has become. This was possible what caused Khelben to be caught off guard by the fiend Malkizid during the battle of Baldurs gate.
The gods are torn. The gods of fury love the chaos and Thoon have retreated to his home plane when he became a true faerunian deity and has taken no direct action in the conflict. Thoon claims he cannot shut down the rift between the planes but no creatures have passed through it since the first days. Several gods have declared him enemy and are banding together in mutual understanding. Shar have declared that those whose followers have suffered the most are weak and not worthy survival....
Last but not least the denizens of the underdark have sensed the weakness of their former enemies and both the drow and Duargar have been attacking at random. The Duargar have targeted Turmish lands as the mercantile kingdom have suffered as its old trade partners Sembia, Cormyr, Westgate are fighting their own battles and cannot come to the aid of former friends. Its coffers are nearing empty and its mercenary army is beginning to grumble about delayed pay. In response the armies of Gold dwarves of the Great Rift are moving towards Turmish and it is only a question of time before the underground caverns are filled with the screams of dying dwarves.
The party finds themselves walking in Shadowdale with the emperor of the Empire of Shattered minds, Malkizid and he tells them that it is a testamony to their power that their minds have started remembering after three years, not all can handle the touch of the one true god Thoon. They remember the words of Thoon and know they belong to him, body and mind but have bocome more powerful than in their wildest dreams. They had in the three years seen action in Baldurs Gate, forced the shattered pirates of the pirate Isles into submission and defended Thoon himself when he was attacked to a force of good.......
This is the setting for the epic campaign setting our party will take part in. They were the ones who set free Thoon and he has awarded them by raising them and infusing them with his unholy power, creating his first chosen of Thoon. This time they are on the other side of the conflict as anti heroes and hunted by their former friends and serving a greater deity of Death and madness!!!!!
As he strode into the realms he tore a rift between the planes and a shockwave of madness and death followed. As the party had learned, the energy of the plane of madness was considered unnatural to faerun and therift between the planes created by the emeging god Thoon caused a 400 mile shockwave which drove thousends into madness. But the worst was to come!!! The cursed lands as they came to be known were covered in a blanket of oily darkness negative energy which animated the fallen and they in turn attacked the living.
Fist hit were the Bedine tribesmen of Araunoroch who almost to a man died of starvation and infighting due to the madness, and those who survived had to fight the undead hordes who were unhindered in the searing heat. Their civilization fell in one fell swoop.
Firstly Thoon traveled to Dweomerheart, home of the gods Azuth and Velsharoon. There he challenged and quickly slew the demidgod of the undead, Velsharoon, in the battle of Rattling Bones. He usurped his portfolios and worshippers and became a true god of Faerun. Then he withdrew to his home in the plane of madness as he were bound by the laws of the overgod Ao. But the wheels have been set in motion and soon countless undead and mad farspawned creatures swarmed through the rift to faerun joining the fight.
Tired of the boresome tactics of mercantile supremacy the arch lich Szass Tam and de-facto ruler of Thay quickly allied his forces with the Thoonac empire and all over the realms the varoius cities containing a thayan enclave exploded in violence and death. Several burned to the ground and especially the sembian cities were hit hard. A cunning necromancer named Rall Tharr burned down Saerloon and marched his army of undead at Selgaunt who quickly capitulated. Several other sembian cities were hit and they are pressed to retake Selgaunt from the Thayannecromancers. The armies of Thay overran the border to Thesk reducing the kingdoms to petty city states struggling to survive. Rashemen and Aglarond have not been attacked but are massing armies near the borders awaiting the next move from Thay and Szazz Tam.
The dales were also hit hard as the shockwave targeted most of the western dales. Shadowdale is in ruins and Elminster have vanished. Refugees are swarming cormyr and just keeping one step ahead of the undead, once former friends and family but now wanting only the destruction of the living.
The City of shade was caught unaware and its citizens driven mad. Infighting and bloodshed in the former netherese enclave caused their leader Telemont to flee araunoroch. They flew east and destroyed Zhentil Keep and subjugated the cities of Hillsfar and Mulmaster levitating over the sea of fallen stars in their newly conquered Empire of Shadows.
The lich-king Zhengyi if Vaasa arose once again and have launched an attack on the realm of Damara in the north. Again allying his forces with Thoon.
The sea of fallen stars have fallen into the hands of the pirate of the isles. Unknown persons ( the party) have slain all who would oppose Thoon and the rest were eager to sail forth to kill and plunder in the name of Thoon. The fleets of the surrounding states are busy defending the ports and have all but fled the open sea.
The vampire lords of westgate allied themselves with Thoon even earlier than Thay, eager to claim new territory. Once hidden they took control of the city and seeing the problems in Sembia and Cormyr they marched and took Teziir, Ilipur and Pree in one swift attack procaliming the new territory under the protection of the Westgate Allience.
Larloch old and powerful, arch lich and Netherese survivor, saw Thoon as a fellow netherese and shared Thoons hatred of the living. A treaty was brokered and soon 100.000 thousend undead clawed their way to fearuns surface. They were led by liches and vampire necromancers and portals were created. The city of Baldurs Gate didn´t know what hit it!!! The siege lasted 2 months and then the city was razed to the ground and its surviving citizens slain and animated. An army from The Silver Marches and Waterdeep tried to lift the siege but the army was ambushed. Malkizid the deceiver, once Solar and duke of hell desended upon the army from the rear. With him were yugoloth and exiled devils and demons brought under the iron fist of the great fiend. Khelben Blackstaff fell, his head ripped off by the mighty and terrible archfiend. Malkizid was later crowned emperor of the Empire of Shattered minds which the cursed lands have been named.
Before the attack Khelben had lost his true love Laerel of the seven sisters in an attack upon Thoon himself. They, alongside Dove Falconhand, Qulie veladorn, Alustriel and the knights of Myth Drannor penetrated the cursed lands and assulted Thoon in his own realm. The battle was furious but in vain. Dove and Qulie and Laerel were killed and the rest fled Thoons wrath realizing what he has become. This was possible what caused Khelben to be caught off guard by the fiend Malkizid during the battle of Baldurs gate.
The gods are torn. The gods of fury love the chaos and Thoon have retreated to his home plane when he became a true faerunian deity and has taken no direct action in the conflict. Thoon claims he cannot shut down the rift between the planes but no creatures have passed through it since the first days. Several gods have declared him enemy and are banding together in mutual understanding. Shar have declared that those whose followers have suffered the most are weak and not worthy survival....
Last but not least the denizens of the underdark have sensed the weakness of their former enemies and both the drow and Duargar have been attacking at random. The Duargar have targeted Turmish lands as the mercantile kingdom have suffered as its old trade partners Sembia, Cormyr, Westgate are fighting their own battles and cannot come to the aid of former friends. Its coffers are nearing empty and its mercenary army is beginning to grumble about delayed pay. In response the armies of Gold dwarves of the Great Rift are moving towards Turmish and it is only a question of time before the underground caverns are filled with the screams of dying dwarves.
The party finds themselves walking in Shadowdale with the emperor of the Empire of Shattered minds, Malkizid and he tells them that it is a testamony to their power that their minds have started remembering after three years, not all can handle the touch of the one true god Thoon. They remember the words of Thoon and know they belong to him, body and mind but have bocome more powerful than in their wildest dreams. They had in the three years seen action in Baldurs Gate, forced the shattered pirates of the pirate Isles into submission and defended Thoon himself when he was attacked to a force of good.......
This is the setting for the epic campaign setting our party will take part in. They were the ones who set free Thoon and he has awarded them by raising them and infusing them with his unholy power, creating his first chosen of Thoon. This time they are on the other side of the conflict as anti heroes and hunted by their former friends and serving a greater deity of Death and madness!!!!!