In the Age of Slumber, the world was raw and unshaped. The Mists of Creation hung thick around the world, waiting for a Giant’s hand to begin. Mountains rose as great slabs and plateaus with their peaks undefined. The Argent Oak stood tall and still, anticipating the creation of the Sentinel Forest. The Worldstriders walked unchallenged and immortal. From nothing, the Crystal Palace rose. The Giants woke and shaped the world – half in light and half in the shadow of the Crystal Palace.
From the shadow and within the caves left by the dying roots of the hollowed Argent Oak, they crawled forth and laid siege to the palace upon the mountain. Five laid claim to the emptied throne, dividing the mantles.
The dawn hermit, who returned to the caves.
Oln, Brilliant Justiciar of the Unforgiving Light.
The Wizard of Holst, joined by the loyal scribes of crepuscular light.
Junis, Lady of the Night Orb and her Gibbous Lancers.
Tarom, drowned under a starless sky and mourned.
With their new found power, they sought to conquer the Worldstriders. The Dirge of Tarom unleashed a fog of malaise and sorrow. Junis and her lancers fought relentlessly, empowered by the never-setting moon. The scribes transcribed the spells of the Wizard of Holst upon the twilight. Oln condemned the Worldstriders brought before him, remanding those who remained to his bailiffs.
The Crystalline Age arose upon the heels of their victory. However, crystals can be fragile and fracture easily. The cracks spread, and light and dark are cast in all directions. Shadows deepen and the caves again beckon. Within the caves, the stories once told upon the walls before the coming of the palace long ago have begun to appear upon the skin of those within – branding them the Painted. The Painted are ill-trusted, and those that do not find their way to the Chalice on their own are consigned there by others.
The Painted
Once, you were human – though the details now escape you. What you now remember is the life written upon your weathered flesh. Are these stories your own? Do they hold meaning to you? If you have ever known, that too escapes you in the details. Like the Crystal Palace, your life and memory are fragmented. You only know for certain the pictures upon your skin have frightened others.
Your painted character has the following traits:
Ability Scores. Your base ability scores are set to 8, though this may be further modified by the paintings on your skin.
Age. The painted do not die of old age, but most lose their physical and mental faculties over time – becoming consumed by the stories upon their skin.
Alignment. Whatever
Size. Painted stand between 5 and 7 feet tall, and weigh between 100 and 350 pounds. Your size is medium.
Speed. Your walking speed is 30 feet.
Attenuation. When you spend a long rest at a crystal beacon, you replace part of the crystal’s structure with your own – imprinting one of symbols on your skin inside the crystal. When this happens, you gain the attenuated condition.
Whenever you die, you return to the crystal with all of your possessions, except where noted.
Anima. You are able to collect anima from the dead and certain objects as an action. You may use this anima to gain more paintings on your flesh, or you may be able to transfer it to other people or objects at certain locations. If you die, any unspent anima falls to the ground at the location you died.
Languages. You can speak, read, and write Common.
I want to play this campaign. I love how different it is from the standard D&D game loop and I think more people would be into it as well.
The game loop itself is what the Souls series implements – to varying degrees. However, I know so many people that either get hung up on strange aspects of what defines the games or people who haven’t engaged with it because of the culture around it.
The setting and subsequent implementation is without any direct correlation, however.