Unnecessary Evil

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Details

• Time Played: 2008-2010
• Historical Era: Dawn Age
• System: Dungeons and Dragons 4th Edition
• GM: Jason
• Players: Alex (Torn), Hank (Makal), Kate (Ember), Sam (Atrius), Steve (Kosh)

Summary

It was originally supposed to run in a mere 32 weekly sessions, for just over half a year. The extensions were largely due to scheduling delays and unexpected narrative elaborations. The game was designed to run over an internet voice chat service using online game table clients for tactical gameplay. The system was a moderately house-ruled version of 4th edition Dungeons and Dragons. The mode of play was participationist, with elements of player authorship (each player was able to write major portions of the side quests for other characters).

The plot centered around the heroes of prophecy: Atrius, Ember, Kosh, Torn, and Makal, and their quest to defeat the demon-corrupted Emperor of Acrolon, and the goddess of Summer and desire, Lascivia, thus ending the Dark Age.

This campaign involved my first foray into balanced house rules, specific to the campaign. The characters included:

Player Characters

Atrius, the "Late Arrival"

Male Tiefling Wizard, Blood Mage, Null Soul

Backstory

Son of Emperor Horchus, Atrius fled the Empire conflicted between the feelings of genuine love he felt for his mother, Lily (Exarch of Innocence) and his training as an Imperial prince. He joins the Heroes of Prophecy in disguise as Uther Bord, not believing their validity, expecting that he is merely infiltrating them for the glory of the Empire of Acrolon. Little does he know that this is exactly what the Linessa knows to be the case, and his royalty and conflicted history plays a vital role in the prophecy.

Summary and Epilogue

Atrius' disguise as Uther Bord lasted until the crossing of the Great Sea. There he discovered that he was being hunted by The Voice of the Wind and Soulhunter Demons. There were several very close calls and escapes across the ocean, and he was finally captured in Sicaestus. Separated from the party, Atrius was taken back to the Emperor's Isle of Acrolon where he would finally be crowned the new Emperor, though he would become forever possessed by the spirit of the old Emperor in the process. There he dodged this fate, and in the process was able to destroy The Voice of the Wind and save his mother, Lily, from destruction. His sacrifice redeemed the line of Emperor's and Lucidus declared him The Last Emperor of Acrolon. No Null Soul had ever lived as long as Atrius had, combined with the strange circumstances of his death, led to his ascension to become a Strange God.

Epic Destiny

Atrius's epic destiny was through special breeding to create a "null soul": a vessel perfect for indefinite possession, which was the goal of the dark emperor of Acrolon. Null souls who live too long become incredibly powerful (reaching epic levels), but also become very unstable.

Ember, "The Burning Shield"

Female High Orc Paladin of Lucidus, Champion of Lucidus, Exarch of Lucidus

Backstory

Ember tried to live a simple life in a dark age. She kept an inn with her husband and children, until the demons came. They burned her family alive in their inn. What they did to her she does not speak about. Her blood burns with the need for vengeance.

Summary and Epilogue

She became a demigod of Lucidus when she risked her life to save the party from a deadly attack by Shilari. She lent her powerful shield to Kosh and Torn when they descended into the Abyss, staying above to fight in the Third Godswar.

Epic Destiny

Her epic destiny was becoming the Exarch of Lucidus.

Kosh, the "Stalking Darkness"

Male Fire Drakeling Rogue, Dagger Master, Raven Knight

Backstory

Kosh was born to a death-worshipping tribe of fire drakelings on Flamespire isle. There he witnessed one of his own kind, Xidnak, betray the tribe to a demon lord in exchange for some mysterious source of arcane power. Kosh swore vengeance on Xidnak and the demons ever since.

Summary and Epilogue

Kosh met Nexia, and in time talked her out of from her self-torture of killing Anastasia before the Dark Age. In exchange, he became her Exarch. He also exacted revenge on Xidnak, but then reversed that fate and bestowed Xidnak his deepest wish: to become the first of the Dragons Reborn. He was one of the two heroes of prophecy to reach the bottom of the Abyss, thanks to his deathly nature, and kill the Demon Queen - resisting her charms with his complete devotion to the only force greater than Desire.

Epic Destiny

Kosh reached epic destiny by becoming the Exarch of Nexia.

Torn, "The Mangled Man"

Male Human Dust Pact Warlock, Feytouched, Storm Sovereign

Backstory

Torn was an ordinary youth who became swept up in a provincial rebellion against the demons. The revolt was utterly crushed, and Torn was cast into a dungeon for idle torture at the hands of bored demons. Unknown reserves of body and mind allowed him to survive the torments and the exposure to demonic taint. When he was cast aside at last, the Obyrith, exiled lords of the Abyss came to him in visions, offering him a pact. He would be healed and given power, and in return, he would return the Abyss to its rightful masters. Torn accepted.

His mangled flesh was stitched back together, leaving a maze of scars that form occult sigils. His missing eye was replaced with a green, slit-pupiled eye; a gift from his patron, the Oracle of Dust. His fading life was replentished with the chill of the Obyrith, leaving his flesh cold to the touch. He was spirited away, appearing in an unnatural storm beside the sea, where the Children of the Golden Throne found him, just as had been prophecied.

He has since been a driven student, but apart from his work, he does or says little, simply staring at the air with mismatched eyes or tracing his scars with his fingertips. He now answers to the off-color nickname given him by one of his keepers, never having spoken his true name.

Summary and Epilogue

He bested Flex Mission of Missionholme and rested the Claws of the New Lord. He was one of the two heroes of prophecy to reach the bottom of the Abyss and slay the demon queen, resisting her charms with the complete erosion of his humanity and his entirely Strange mind. His village returned to life by the machine in Aeon's lab, Torn left his humanity behind entirely. The affect of the Abyss on his mind made him immune to the whispers of Zhudun. He ate Zhudun, for lack of a better verb, and reached the Locus of the New Lord. From then on he traveled the world acting as a strange harbinger, guide, prophet, and liaison of the Great Ones.

Epic Destiny

Torn's epic destiny was becoming one of The Lost, Strange Gods of The Veil.

Makal, the "Stone Man"

Male Goliath Warlord, Knight Commander, Exarch of Aedifica

Backstory

Born in the reclusive tribe of Hajadin on northern Vashad, Makal followed the omens of the shamans to join the heroes of prophecy.

Summary and Epilogue

Soon he discovered that his destiny was more complicated than ending the reign of the demon queen. He was also to unite the divided people of the Hajadin and the Biashar, and in so doing, heal the factured mind of Pellex, god of form, who would become Aedifica, trans-goddess, allowing her to join the Third Godswar.

Epic Destiny

His epic destiny was becoming Exarch to Aedifica, Primarch of Form.

Story

Chapter 1: The Threshold

The heroes are assembled by the Golden Throne in a lone monastery outside of the city of Qalat Khasab in the kingdom of Sekhim in the lands of Vashad. They train together and learn to be a team. They are shown a mural in the basement, linear geometric shapes carved into the sandstone. One central sunlike star shape is actually an aperture with a reflective material deeper within. They are told that they are prophesized to return with the key to unlock this treasure. When dark imperials attacked, the heroes had to flee, fighting a tanari hound to escape, making their way to the Southern Tabil Forest.

Making their way through the Northern Tabil Forest, they encounter a goblin settlement that made their living ambushing forest travelers. The party vanquished the goblin leader causing the rest to scatter into the wood. Resupplying, they ventured onward.

The party then arrived in the town of Mulhar, becoming embroiled in a drama involving a bewitched Shah, a conniving swindler, an innocent innkeeper, and an ancient crone. The party unraveled the deceptions and were able to find a peaceful solution by returning a stolen amulet to the witch in exchange for a cure for the Shah, foiling the swindler's plans.

Reaching the Southern Tabil Forest, they found the hidden cabin where the Golden Throne kept the prophetess Linessa. Linessa had fallen into a strange trance at the age of 17 and muttered random phrases for 61 years. It wasn't until 50 years ago, when one of her phrases predicted the return of the Sun and the end of the Dark Age, that her gift of prophecy was revealed. That's when the Golden Throne found Linessa and hid her from the Dark Empire of Acrolon who became interested in her prophecies. It was in this most recent hiding place that the party finally met the prophetess that predicted their victory over the Dark Empire of Acrolon and the Demon Queen, Lascivia. They learned how the Golden Throne learned to interpret the seeming babble of words, as they heard their own names mentioned. Piecing together the phrases that seemed to address them, they learned that Linessa's words were not random, they were just jumbled in their sequence. Linessa awoke from her visions and gave the party some optimistic words before telling them how they would find the road to their destiny, by crossing the ocean to the east.

On the way to the lawless port city of Istilqa Matar, the party helps a merchant being attacked by drug-addled halfing gangsters calling themselves the Hamstringers. In thanks, the merchant gives them a letter of recommendation to a pirate captain named Kasima. The party followed the road south and found the small encampment of the Hamstringers. There Makal participated in bare knuckle fighting to earn the respect of the Halflings, and when the leader dropped his guard, the party took out the violent gang leadership, causing the gang great setbacks.

Finally arriving in Istilqa Matar, the party had to avoid the attention of demonic patrols searching for them. They also encountered a number of portents that Linessa had warned them about, hints at their future fates. They rescued a small band of pirates from a demonic patrol, and those pirates turned out to be crewmates of Kasima, captain of the Sea Serpent. The party showed their letter of introduction and secured passage across the waves to the east.

Before the Sea Serpent could sail, however, the party had to help Kasima get out from under the manipulative thumb of Numal, vizier of the city, who turned out to be a Nalfeshnee demon in disguise. The battle with Numal was the climax of the first chapter and propelled the party into the Paragon tier of their careers.

Chapter 2: Across the Sea

The party set sail and soon had their first sea battle against a ship of the Yellow Skull Company. They sank the vessel and as they were hauling up its treasure from the wreckage, they spotted another ship on the horizon. Atrius recognized it as one of the emperor's fleet, undoubtedly looking for the prince.

The Sea Serpent turned temporarily invisible through an enchantment, but it wouldn't last long. Kosh admitted he knew of a nearby island with a grotto they could hide in. And so the Sea Serpent made its way to Flamespire Isle. There were magical guardians that damaged the ship as it reached anchor in the grotto. The crew set about repairs while the party dispatched the guardians. Kosh noticed a floating tower that had not been on the island when he lived there. As they made their way to the tower, they met who they believed a follower of Nexia. However, after some strange omens, Kosh realized that this was an avatar of Nexia herself, who claimed she had an interest in the goings on of the isle. When Kosh asked Nexia about the tower, she explained that it belonged to Xidnak, who had slain every single member of the black drakeling tribe.

Angered, Kosh led the party to the tower. There they found Xidnak, hooked up to arcane machinery within the tower, including orbs which seemed to hold the souls of the slain drakelings. Xidnak was within a purple orb, unsensing, but also unassailable. Instead of destroying the orbs, gaining access to a helpless Xidnak but condemning his kin to eternal restlessness, he took the orbs and returned them to the isles catacomb temple to Nexia for proper burial. Xidnak rose from his slumber and angrily chased the party. The party was victorious in combat, but Nexia appeared and explained that Xidnak had struck a bargain with her for immortality, becoming a lich. Kosh forgave Nexia and Nexia told the party where Xidnak's phylactery could be found in Acrolon.

Soon after setting sail again, they were attacked by a Kraken that tried to sink the ship. After their victory, they came to a small island where Makal met people who looked a lot like his own race, but not of his own race, exactly as Linessa predicted.

The party joined what turned out to be an archeological dig being run by Galdan. The party helped Galdan with his dig to uncover an artifact called the Whispering Crystal. The island itself seemed to try to stop the dig, with nature, flora, and fauna all attacking the dig. After successfully defending the dig, Makal learned that Galdan was conspiring with the Sea Serpent crew to try to capture Makal. The crew refused, and the party captured and questioned Galdan. Apparently his people had been searching for one of Makal's race for centuries. He explained that the crystal was part of an invention called the Anvil of Truth and that Makal's race was part of a ritual to bring "order to the world". Galdan said further answers would be found at Black Iron Hold in Acrolon. The party left Galdan. Then the crew saw the imperial fleet on the horizon again.

Kasima decided that the only way to lose the imperial hunters was to try to cross the Strange Seas. As they entered the shallows of the Strange Seas, they were attacked by a group of Slaad. The Slaad were proving victorious, and the only means of escape from the creatures seemed to be flight into the Source of All Storms, the City of Fury. So the Sea Serpent set sail into the storm.

In the City of Fury, surrounded by storms, the party became wrapped up in the courtly intrigue of genies that had apparently escaped from the massive piece of the Apparatus that made up the island city. There they also learned of a human scholar who was enslaved by one of the genie lords, and set to study the City of Storms to find a way for them to escape. They party was able to maneuver the courts of the genies in such a way to gain access to the scholar. There they learned that the scholar had been captured by the storms of the City, but that he was a scholar of the Apparatus and was content to remain, even though he had a ritual that would allow escape. In exchange for escape, the party agreed to help the scholar with an investigation into the nature of the City of Fury. They succeeded in the investigation and learned that the city was actually once a star in the Astral Sky. It had fallen, and apparently had been some kind of home for these genies. The scholar kept his word and performed the ritual of Seven Strange Winds, which would propel the parties ship on an impossible path to an impossible destination.

The party then sailed the Strange Seas through some kind of vision quest and arrived on the shores of an unknown island. The island held the ruins of an unrecognized temple. Within the temple the party found priests of Umbrus, the long lost god of Destiny. They explained that Destiny no longer functioned and that their god long ago abandoned them. Ember asked if there was anything that she could do for the priests, as it was Linessa's parting advice to her that she would heal a rift between gods by helping the lost priests of Umbrus. They said that their only lament was the Umbral Blot. They showed the party to the basement, where there was a massive well of inky blackness. They explained that the Blot was a vestige of all the hate, fear, and anger of the god Umbrus, but they didn't know how to heal it. Just then, the inky blackness surged from the well and Tears of Umbrus formed to swallow the party.

The party awoke in the Shadow Realm, a twisted shadowscape of sinister visions and eerie sounds. This session was played as a large scale social LARP at a convention, with over 20 players. The party found their way through the shadow lands to the city of Blodheim. There they were invited to a grand festival, which was apparently held every night. The festival was held to stave off the Nightmare, a dark dream that everyone in Blodheim shared and which threatened madness. To stay awake, the festival was held. It was an attrocious affair. Every dark and twisted pleasure was entertained. Servants were murdered for fun and consumed, and the party discovered no one could actually die in Blodheim. Everyone was fated to return to life the next festival. And so murder was the primary diversion of the festival. By the end of the murder party, Kosh and several Blodheim leaders were all killed.

During the festivities, the party learned of a secret prisoner named Honoria. They freed the woman and learned that she had escaped Blodheim through her creation of the Black Tapestry. She returned to teach others how to escape from Blodheim. Apparently the Black Tapestry was a work of art that tried to embody the Nightmare. If one could capture the essence of the Nightmare, they would permanently die in Blodheim and awake back in the real world. The party embraced the Nightmare and learned the dark history of Umbrus and Lascivia. Each member of the party created a piece of art to capture the story. Kosh built a shadow carousel, Makal carved a massive totem of hieroglyphs, Ember put on a play, Torn created an ice sculpture, and Atrius crafted an illusory vision. Each succeeded and awoke back in the temple of Umbrus. The priests considered this a great portent for the heroes victory over Lascivia.

The party learned that the Sea Serpent had sailed on, assuming the party to be lost. But the priests of Umbrus gave the party special boots that would let them walk effortlessly on the bottom of the sea and breath water. So the party walked the bottom of the ocean. They came to a settlement of underwater dwellers and helped with vanquish Aboleth monsters that were kidnapping villagers. It turned out that the Aboleth were a trap set by Klytus, another Dust Pact warlock like Torn. Klytus fled saying that Torn would never reach Missionholme. As reward, the kuo-toa gave the party a map to traverse the Strange Deeps, the fastest way to get to Acrolon.

The party entered the Strange Deeps of the ocean where the water stopped being water, and instead became like heavy air. They wandered a forest where a woman in white chained to a red book stood. She said she was the Ruby Queen. She said she did not know the path to Acrolon or Missionholme, but that the "oracle stones" of the Weeping Glade could provide mystic insight, if the party were to just turn the stones on end. They turned a naerby stone on end and it freed the Yolchol demon disguised as the Ruby Queen. Elves attacked the party and the Yolchol, but the party focused on the Yolchol. Once it was defeated, the elves were confused, asking why the party would free the Handmaiden of Lolth, only to slay it. The party explaiend the misunderstanding and were brought to the true Ruby Queen, the Mistress of Chains, and ruler of the Bright Fae Burning Court. She explained that the Weeping Glade was a prison. She knew the way to Missionholme and Acrolon, though it would lead through the realm of an Obyrith lord named Zhag-Azam.

The party made their way through the Weeping Glade and into the tarry realm of Zhag-Azam. They fought the Obyrith lord and its massive tar minions. The Obyrith tried to push the party into tar pools that threatened to swallow them forever, but the party was victorious.

The party continued until they reached a grey seashore. In the restless waves they saw a lone mountain, the raelm of Missionholme. More details of this massive adventure can be found at Unnecessary Evil: Missionholme. This adventure marked the end of Chapter 2 and the party each reached their epic paths.

Chapter 3: Dark Throne of Acrolon

Upon the defeat of Flex, Missionholme began to dissolve back into the Strange Sea. The party saw the many imprisoned servitors of the realm flung far through the Strange Sea. Before they could be flung, a tall skinny rabbit-headed creature appeared and introduced himself as the Fingersmith, sent by The Wandering Star to help get them where they needed to be. They arrived in Mercatia, where Ember revealed the true nature of the Tears of Umbrus to the high priest of Lucidus in exile. She was granted the title of exarch for the service, especially her sacrifices in Blodheim. Then they worked with the high priest of Suentius to devise a path to the Abyss to confront Lascivia. They choose a trek across Acrolon to the Emperor's Isle, where a standing portal to the Abyss could be found. Their path included several stops to learn vital information about their main quest and their personal quests. The party was also reunited with the Sea Serpent who would sail them across the Pirate Isles as far as they could.

The party sets sail on the Burning Need, Ember's ship, crewed by the crew of the Sea Serpent. Their first stop on the mainland was near Sindra's Rest Lake, which was full of corpses from one of the battles on Sindra's March. It was also home to the Alabster Cathedral, the lair of the Bone Maiden, a powerful necromancer. The party offered to help her in exchange for one of the souls in her charge (a dark imperial general with information on the imperial isle). First they defeat the Graveater, a massive and powerful epic level opponent eating the corpses of the lake.

Upon reaching the mountain courts of the Reidan imperial nobles in the Black Iron mountains, Makal discovers a library held by a scholar of his strange alternate race. He learned the nature of the Anvil of Truth to create a unified servitor of Pellex that could rule both of the races of stone. They devise a plot to kidnap the Lordsmith, ruler of the race of stone and perform the ritual themselves making Makal the servitor of Pellex. The kidnapping succeeds, and the party brings the Lordsmith and Anvil of Truth to the Plains of Fire in the Godsalt Wastes. There Lordsmith Makal ascends to be the exarch of Aedifica, the healed god of Form.

In the Godsalt Wastes, the party encountered their next source of information: Gen, a fully vowed Order of One monk. Gen explained that Lascivia was not the first Tanari prince to reach godhood. In fact it was such Tanari plots that caused the Order of One to be formed. He offered another path to the Abyss through a quicksilver portal in the Jundahal Mountains of Malocia, where the Beast had attempted to manifest in Acrolon.

The next stop was the village of Daggertide (Sicaestus) on the southern shores of Acrolon. There both Atrius and Kasima (who turns out is the last free vashar) are finally found and captured by the imperial hunters, leaving the campaign until the end of this chapter. The party then finds the ancient bloodstone mine outside of Daggertide which Xidnak used as a sanctum. They defeated Xidnak easily and learned of his mission. Apparently Xidnak believed that through necromantic ritual, drakelings could begin a process of reincarnation that would eventually let them be born again as the long lost race of dragons. Kosh forgave Xidnak his murderous intentions and let him become the first dragon reborn. This earned Kosh the role of exarch to Nexia, securing his epic path.

The finale of chapter 3 was massive and told in a fairly experimental way, with the party split into two groups, Atrius who was returned to his imperial home, and everyone who was trying to find and free him. More at Unnecessary Evil: Fall of the Dark Empire of Acrolon.