Twenty Quick Questions: Setting

Here is some pertinent information for all new and returning players, plus it gives some information about the setting as a whole in bite-sized chunks. The twenty questions about setting are shamelessly stolen from Jeff Rients' blog.

There is a split in how religion is handled in the game.  One can be a cleric, or one can be a priest.

Player character clerics typically belong to the Great Church and worship the monotheistic deity The Lawgiver.  However, The Lawgiver does not seem to intervene in mortal affairs in any way.  Clerics are more your typical warrior-priest type of character.

There are also priests who belong to sects or cults that may worship any number of demons, entities, pagan deities or “small gods.”  Sometimes they do this as an easy road to power, but sometimes because of the traditions of their ancestors.  Obviously, all are denounced and banned by the Church.  A priest is a different class than the cleric that is more akin to being a practitioner of a particular faith.

There's an open-air marketplace around the old well near The Orc and Pie that has some goods for sale, and also at the dock some sell items directly off their boats and barges that come in from Dunfalcon or other ports along Tears' Deep.

There are also a few tents on the outskirts of the encampment that serve as shops for a few tradesmen:  a smithy, an armorer (generally working on commissions for for the Baron), a fletcher (also typically laboring for the Baron), a baker and a leech.

Finally, if you have come into your fortunes you can go to Pieter's wagon, who therein keeps a good amount of goods imported from the cities until he can afford to build and open a proper trading post.

I suppose you can plead your case to the smithy or armorer and see if they will make you something, but I can only imagine that they will not look kindly on your request.

Perhaps you could find someone in Dunfalcon who would do such a thing, if they would even let the beast inside the gates!  That would also be expensive, and I'm not sure you can find anyone to transport you back down the river to inquire with a monster in tow.  Going on foot would surely be suicide.

The Forbidden Arts have not been practiced openly since the Sundering, but there are some who do not fear the wrath of the Church.

One of those who practiced without fear was Michbeth, but she disappeared around the time of the Sundering.  Still, there are those who still say she is still seen periodically to this day.  Harwyn the Sly practices his creed, but is nominally in the employ of the Church as a Magister.  Tegus openly defies the ban on practice but is constantly traveling, staying ahead of the bounty hunters and Inquisitors.

Albeit not a wizard, Grief could perform impressive feats of the Arts.  If she is still alive however, most agree that the Witch Queen is the most powerful and we may yet grovel at her feet.

I am sure both Tonbee the Tall and Thyri Giant-Slayer would both claim the mantle, but others say that the axe of Landgraf Gomgnur is the most fearsome blade one could have ever met.

During the Chaos Crusades the leader of the Inquisitors for the Church, Lorman of the Shield was distinguished in battle and all before him fell.  After the Sundering he returned to form a warrior order known as The Paladins who are all fierce warriors in service to The Lawgiver.

That is up to some debate.  Most people would say it was obviously The Ardor of Law, but many have said it must be the great merchant Lord Nevill.

Others would point to the Kings of Avarice or Jharym, but since neither have been heard from for more than the lifetime of any man alive I assume that is no longer a legitimate response.

Some will say if she survives, the Witch Queen likely has many fabulous treasures from bygone times, but will only invoke her name in whispers lest she hear her name spoken.

Now, if you are talking about at the encampment, then you are likely talking about the Baron, who finances the whole affair although the source of his money is the subject of much speculation…

If you head to the tent of colorful tapestries and heralds near The Orc and Pie, you could see if the Prelate can help you.

Also, some people swear by the Leech that has set up shop under a wood and canvas lean-to near this end of the glen that leads to the swamp.

Well, if the Prelate or the Leech can't help you then perhaps that apothecary who is sometimes at the dock has a cure-all that helps, or there may be someone staying at The Orc and Pie that can do something.  Life is hard out here in the Hinterlands…

In theory it would be possible, but in practice, no.  Magic-users jealously guard their hard-earned secrets and are unlikely to share them freely.  However, there are stories and legends of covenants of wizards before the Sundering.

Another reason that magic-users are wise to be circumspect in the practice of their art is the potential for repercussions from the Church.  Any practice of magic may bring sanctions or punishment, but it is unlikely that minor practice of the Forbidden Arts will draw any attention, especially out here in the Hinterlands.  However, bold displays of power may bring about the ire of members of the Church and perhaps the attention of The Ardor of Law and Inquisitors.

In any of the remaining cities one could find most anything they seek.  Being the Hinterlands the pickings are slim and typically limited to the desperate or the occasional travelling merchant who lands at the dock.

People are flocking to the encampment, so I suspect you can find some loitering down near the dock or outside the The Orc and Pie.  Occasionally a group of Northmen come into town and rent out their swordarms to explorers.  If you're really desperate there may also be some men who would join your company if you sprung them from the gaol pits before they starve.

The Baron's men are everywhere, so camp is safe enough.  Nonetheless, pretty much everyone carries weapons since the camp feels a little… exposed?  Justice is swift and harsh so I wouldn't take to fighting or other misdeeds in town.

Practice of the Forbidden Arts is not allowed by order of the Church, under pain of torture, disfigurement or death.

That'd be The Orc and Pie.  Walk down from the dock and turn right and it's the old building there.  You can't miss it, it's the only permanent structure here at the encampment, although if it keeps falling apart…

Years ago the wars with the Northmen and Grief ended, but there are still occasionally skirmishes with some bands of Northmen raiders at smaller outposts.  Things have been peaceful for some time, which is why Baron Aelfric has had the breathing room to start this encampment to explore the Hinterlands.

There's a rumor down from the dock that on the full moon, south along the shoreline a fight ring has begun with a cash purse for the winner, but… who knows if that's true or not?  I guess the only way to know for sure is to go see.

There seem to be numerous cults for worship, and stories abound about different factions and societies within the Great Church (although they are not told openly).  Politics can also turn deadly in places like Dunfalcon or Orison and no one is sure whose hands turn the screws most of the time.  It may take some doing to uncover what sort of dark corner you are looking for.

At the marketplace there is always someone tending a small fire cooking something or other, but if you're made of money you can get something to eat at The Orc and Pie.  Alternately, perhaps you could catch something and start a small fire at the marketplace and set up a tent to sell roast owlbear or something…

During the Chaos Crusades and the Sundering a great number of religious relics and artifacts were lost in the fighting; finding those would be a great boon and probably fetch high prices.  Their disposition with regards to the Church is not known, though, although a few have been found and their rightful ownership not contested (or fell outside the gaze of the clergy).

Also, it is said that the forces of Chaos that the Great Church opposed had an immense amount of powerful magic, much in the form of weapons, armor and other items at their disposal.  Those things may still be at the sites of the battles, ripe for the taking!

The Northmen say that Grief lived in a fortress above a ruined city that he explored for treasures.

Don't you listen? The Baron's men reported seeing one four days' journey to the northwest, but what it may or may not have is anyone's guess.