Before our Story Begins
Following the assassination of councilor Dominic D'Honaire and the Seven Mage Duel, and the Opera House Massacre on September 18th, 761, Dementlieu began its slow and inevitable slide into chaos, accelerated by the stunning escape of assassin Guy Benoit.
The nobility, terrified for its existence following these events, retreated into itself, fracturing and fragmenting into small, self-contained factions. None were willing to trust the other aristocracy beyond a small circle of friends and family, as it was simply too fantastic to believe that a lone assassin such as Benoit could’ve arranged for the subsequent arrival of the mysterious archmage, or the later massacre of the nobility at the Grand Opera House. Suspicion naturally fell upon the two other power bases of the Dementlieuse government, the University which had so recently employed Benoit, and the military with whom he had served in earlier years. Theorizing about Benoit's true masters was a popular pasttime in the parlors of the aristocracy. Nevertheless, the nobility felt that there was no one to trust, and the factionalizing was accompanied by an increase in personal security. Many of the manors on the Domaines d'Eclaire began to resemble armed fortresses, and most of the noble families recruited private armies of trained thugs and foreign mercenaries. The paranoid air of suspicion and distrust amongst the upper classes of Dementlieu was to have dreadful consequences down the line.
Meanwhile, the government's subtle control of the peasantry and urban poor was shattered by D'Honaire's death, and this combined with the particularly harsh winter of 761-762 led to bread riots the following year. Though largely non-violent, these riots were to set the government's nerves on edge, and the continued enfeeblement of Governor Guignol did nothing to grant leadership to the increasingly rudderless government. This would lead to disaster when in late August of 762, a huge crowd of the urban poor traveled to the palace of the Governor, intent upon beseeching Guignol for relief from the ever-higher food prices. Though the intent of the protest was peaceful, the soldiers guarding the Governor's Palace, largely ceremonial troopers with no combat training, panicked at the sight of the vast crowd of people, and fired into the crowd. This, in turn, caused the frightened poor to stampede, trampling many of their number in the rush to escape the square. It is estimated that twelve hundred people died on what would become known as Bloody Sunday.
In the long term, Bloody Sunday destroyed all hopes of reconciliation between the lower and the upper classes of Dementlieu, though it did also mark the end of large-scale protests. Instead, the increasingly resentful peasantry began to resort to acts of sabotage and terrorism, egged on by the actions of groups such as the increasingly radicalized L'Ordures or the Bloody Hand, a group began by survivors of Bloody Sunday. Throughout the spring and summer of 763, a campaign of urban violence steadily rocked the city of Port-a-Lucine, culminating in the bombing of
Voix de l'Ame which claimed the lives of several prominent noblemen, as well as poet Maurice Sevrigold.
This was the impetus for Minister of Defense Josephine Chantreaux to institute the Sevrigold Laws, a series of decrees that would change the political landscape of Dementlieu. The Gendarmerie presence in Port-a-Lucine was trebled, with militia brought in from the surrounding countryside. Heavy recruiting was done outside the city so as to locate personnel without inherent loyalty to the rioters, and political indoctrination was emphasized. The powers and authority of the Gendarmerie was increased, with wide-ranging rights to search anywhere and arrest anyone. In effect, Port-a-Lucine was put under martial law. The Sevrigold Laws have yet to be lifted.
They also had several unintended consequences. With the military presence of the surrounding areas reduced, large portions of Dementlieu became dangerous to travel. Bandits, Falkovnian raiders, and bizarre
things started to prowl the countryside, making travel at all a dicey proposition, even just to Chateaufaux. The necessity of importing food from Falkovnia, of all places, was greatly increased, leading to the bizarre necessity of fearing Falkovnian invaders while relying upon Falkovnian merchants. Without the good-faith efforts of Ambassador Markos Vedarrak, this would have been impossible.
Elsewhere, the effective martial law led to howls of protest, in particular in the University of Dementlieu. Its new president, Simon de Casteele, opted to turn down Chantreaux's soldiers and instead take security measures into the University's hands. The Arcane Sciences department created an array of summoned elementals and automata across the campus, creating an oasis of peace and calm amidst the gathering storm of Dementlieuse politics. Nevertheless, relations between the University and the Government are politely strained, the air of mistrust and dissension not aided in the least when an Elder Pyre Elemental went rogue in 767 and burned down eight city blocks before being subdued. Following this event, Councilor Claude LaGrange began to work ever more closely with the University of Dementlieu, to the general disconcertion of his colleagues.
Likewise, the Quartier Ouvrier is functionally off-limits to the agents of the Government. Any gendarme who dares enter the ramshackle tenements and winding alleyways of the Quarter is liable to be ambushed and murdered, and so the Gendarmerie enters the Quarter only in force, and for a specific cause. True rulership is instead the province of the numerous revolutionary groups and criminal gangs that dot the area.
The city of Port-a-Lucine, the greatest metropolis of the Western Core, stands on the brink of civil war.
The Shattered City Campaign
“Oh! Hello. You’re here about the Chateau... I see! Just let me find where I put my papers... You’ll have to forgive me. Where did I put them...?”
“You’re actually quite
... lucky! You have one of the last few rooms. I have to admit, I didn’t expect this much of a response... Aha! Here they are. And here you go. Do please read it all... carefully.
My payments are due on the first week of every month. As you can see, they are quite reasonable. If you cannot make them, please, tell me. I am certain we can work out... an arrangement.”
“Your room will be on the second floor. They are small, but I hope you find them... comfortable. I’ve taken the liberty of placing a desk in your parlor, and a wardrobe and bed in the bedchambers. I can, of course... remove them if you have other furniture you wish to use. Hmm? What’s that? No... you can set up your room however you like. I understand that tenets can have... peculiar
habits, or... special
needs. Just... don’t damage the walls, and try not to bother your neighbors.”
“If you’d like to stretch your wings a bit, I hope the downstairs commons will prove... satisfactory. I’ve made sure that the kitchen is fully stocked, and arranged for a newspaper to be delivered every morning. I’ve... heard
that the piano downstairs is rather appreciated, and the... billiards table seems to be popular. Simply... do not bother the two professors on the first floor, if you please. They own those rooms, not me... so it’s best if you remain on their good sides.”
“The name? It’s actually a... funny story. It’s... completely unwarranted, I assure you. The professors have never complained about anything... untoward
, and I should think they’d know better than anyone else. Ignorance has never stopped talk, I’m afraid. I actually find the name rather... charming, myself. Of course, there will always be rumors
, but... you need pay them no mind.”
“Simply sign here on the line... oh. Wait. I have a pen here somewhere... Here you go. It is a... pleasure to have you. If you need to write me for anything, simply... ask for Charles Devereux at the local post. They’ll know where to take it.”
“Here’s your key. Welcome to the Chateau Malchance.”
It’s March in 770, and the great city of Port-a-Lucine is a place of tension and mistrust, with violence on the horizon, but it’s still one of the largest and most powerful cities in the Core. Port-a-Lucine is still a prominent trading hub, with merchants from as far away as Sri Raji and Nova Vaasa plying their wares in the Quartier Marchand. Port-a-Lucine is still a center of culture and art, the determinator of taste in the Southwestern Core. And Port-a-Lucine is still home to the most prestigious university in the Core. It’s to this city of fading but still defiant glory that the players have come.
For whatever reason, the PCs have just moved into the Chateau Malchance, a quiet house on the outskirts of the Quartier Marchand. Owned by the famous children’s author and noted eccentric, Charles Devereux, the Chateau Malchance is cheap and comfortable, provided you don’t mind the peculiar landlord and unusual housemates. The PCs have come to live, work, and study in Port-a-Lucine.
But there’s a battle brewing behind the scenes, a supernatural war in the shadows of Port-a-Lucine’s tensions. Soon, the fight for the very soul of Dementlieu will begin, and the tenants of the Chateau Malchance will find themselves thrust into its very heart.
Campaign Organization
The Shattered City has definite starting and ending points, and an overarching plot arc. It will be divided into nine ‘Chapters’, with a variable number of short interludes in between. Each chapter is a single, largely self-contained adventure, while the interludes will function as brief ‘breaks’ in the campaign.
The Shattered City is a Horror/Action campaign run in the 4th Edition. Heavy on the roleplaying, medium on combat, not too much in the way of traps/puzzles. Players can expect lots of intrigue and secrets, with a large supporting cast of NPCs who can serve as allies, resources, and the occasional enemy.
Character Creation (Story)
There are four elements of character creation from a story perspective in Shattered City, though only the first two are required. The other two are heavily recommended, but you don’t
have to do them to participate.
First, you have to pitch the DMs a character concept. This is required, but it’s not very formal. Just contact the DMs somehow or other (I recommend something private, such as AIM or PMs), and let us know what kind of character you’re thinking of making. This is just to screen out any character ideas that wouldn’t quite work before you put too much work into them, and also to give the DMs a chance to suggest ideas.
Secondly, once the DMs have signed off on the idea, you need to fill out the Questionnaire. This is a slightly altered version of the one found in the Ravenloft Player’s Handbook, and the idea is to give us your character’s background but with a focus on the parts which the DMs will actually find most useful to know. The questionnaire is required, and constitutes the absolute minimum, along with a character sheet, to get into the game. It’ll be posted in a separate post below.
Thirdly, you can do a Character Brief. This is a few more quick questions that will be posted publicly, and basically says what you look like and what a very superficial personality overview. While you don’t
need to do a character brief, it’s required if you want any of our artists to even think about drawing your character, and will be rewarded by 2 reroll tokens (see below for more on reroll tokens). The character brief guidelines will also be posted below. Not making any promises now, but people who fill out a character brief well
might get some lovely artwork. Something to bear in mind now.
Fourthly and finally, you can write a separate background for your character, a history of the character in the traditional sense. This is your chance to frame a coherent story for the character, as well as seed any adventure hooks for the DMs to use in the future. Also, while I make no promises, your chances of seeing a hook used is greatly increased by linking the adventure hook to Port-a-Lucine somehow. Character backgrounds will earn you 3 reroll tokens for a well written background.
[
NOTE! Returning characters have to fill all of this information out as well. It’s been nine years, people can change in that time. And it’s been almost two years since you first created the character, so now is a good time to review what they’re like.]
Character Creation (Mechanics)
Systems-wise, this is a 4th Edition campaign. All characters begin at level 5, and use Method 2 for stat generation, on pages 17-18 of the Players Handbook. In other words, point-buy system.
Races, I recommend humans but I will allow any race,
provided they can pass unremarked in a human society. Elves, eladrin, halflings, gnomes, and dwarves get a free pass on this, but if you want to play a Goliath, a Deva or a Warforged, you’ll need to explain how this character manages to survive in human society. I’m perfectly open to repainting odd races as something else. Say, a Minotaur would be repainted as a huge, hulking human with a fondness for charging attacks. A Githyanki might be a human with latent psychic ability. And so on and so forth.
If you want to play a Half-Vistani or a Caliban, talk to me and we’ll work something out.
Equipment and money is going to be handled a little differently in the Shattered City, so look down at the Equipment section down below to figure that out.
General Character Creation Notes
- <> Required and Allowed Books: At very minimum, I want all PCs to have access to a copy of the Ravenloft Player’s Handbook and a copy of the 4th Edition Player’s Handbook. If you are having trouble getting these, contact me and I’ll see what we can figure out.
The allowed Books list is fairly broad, but you can only use limited aspects of some of them:
- -Player’s Handbook = Everything
-Player’s Handbook 2 = Everything
-Arcane Power, Martial Power, Divine Power, any subsequent Power books = Classes, powers, paragon paths, items (in other words, everything but the rituals)
-Eberron Player’s Guide = Races, Artificer class, and associated feats and Paragon Paths (In other words, only feats and paragon paths that list Artificer or a race as a prerequisite, nothing like Dragonmarks)
-Forgotten Realm Player’s Guide = Races, Swordmage class, Warlock Dark Pact, and associated feats and Paragon Paths (same as above)
If you want to use something from outside those sources (Dragon Magazine, Adventurer’s Vault, etc), then you need to get explicit permission from the DMs, and to get that you need to make a very good case for why this power/item/feat is the one you must have and no other.
<>Character Sheets: You need to send to me some manner of character sheet that covers all of the information for your character. Myth Weavers has free character sheets for 4th Edition, you just need to register, go to sheets, and make a public 4E character for me.
You can use other character sheets, including those built by the WotC Character Builder, just so long as I have access to them and they cover all the usual information.
<>No Outlanders: Demiplane natives only.
<> Alignment: I plan to ignore alignment altogether in the Shattered City campaign. People are still heroes and villains, bystanders and monsters, but I’m not going to bother sorting everyone into neat little categories of ‘Lawful Neutral’ or what-not. I also follow the Eberron standard, which is that nothing is “Always Chaotic Evil” any more. The wonders of free will.
<> Languages: The entirety of the Shattered City campaign will take place in Port-a-Lucine and its environs, and so all PCs MUST know High Mordentish if they intend to talk to each other. As such, I am replacing the ‘Common’ that the PHB gives characters with High Mordentish. We’re using the Ultimate Ravenloft Language List, and characters have the option of swapping out their racial languages for the domain language of their homeland (an elf can take Darkonian instead of Elven, say). In general though, languages will rarely come up.
<> Gamebreakers: We’re all new to 4th Edition. So unlike in 3rd, all the horribly unbalancing elements haven’t been firmly identified yet. If you happen to have some combination of powers or feats or what-not that ends up being too powerful (or for that matter, too weak), don’t be surprised if the DMs politely ask you to retrain them next level. Hopefully this shouldn’t happen.
Equipment
Treasure will be handled a little differently than in core 4E. Due to the nature of the game, magic items and rituals will be almost completely independent of currency.
You will begin the game with 3 items (1 level 6 or lower, 1 level 5 or lower and 1 level 4 or lower) plus 840 gold pieces to spend on other equipment. Of this 840 gp, you may begin the game with no more than 300 gp in cash, although buying ritual components with excess is fine.
Replacing of the default 4E treasure parcel system, each time a new level is achieved, each player may choose a new magic item of no higher level than their own new level +3. For example, when the characters advance from level 5 to level 6, each player may select one magic item of 9th level or lower. Instead of currency, most treasure will mechanically take the form of residuum (Thematically this may vary or not be addressed at all). For those of you unaware of 4E mechanics, residuum is a kind of swiss army magic dust which is mostly used for the creation of magic items and the casting of powerful limited spells called rituals. Even if your character is incapable of using residuum, it is certain that a fellow PC or friendly NPC will be able to make use of it on your character's behalf.
To keep the exponentially skyrocketing costs of rituals and magic items from disrupting local economies, magic items, ritual components, and residuum may never be sold for cash. Disused magic items may however be disenchanted (with a ritual spell) to create residuum.
Your character will be able to aquire actual coinage, but it will be at dramatically feasible levels (unlike the residuum you get each level which will increase exponentially to keep up with magic item and ritual costs).
[Addendum regarding money: Players start with up to 300 gp in cash, and can expect to receive a per-chapter discretionary income of 100 gp, which establishes the characters as roughly middle class. You may want to consider just how the character has this money (trust fund? Job?) There will of course be money-making opportunities in-game.]
[Second Addendum regarding equipment: In order to explain why the PCs (and some NPCs) can get away with walking around in full plate and with a greataxe in downtown Port-a-Lucine, we’re making armor much sleeker and weapons much more socially acceptable than is historically accurate. Essentially, if you’re wearing plate, you can describe it as a breastplate under your jacket, while cloth armor can just be a thick suit of clothes. Weapons, meanwhile, will be allowed in almost all situations (it may help to think of them as the equivalent of dress rapiers, only more varied… and practical). Mechanically, nothing changes.]
Combat
In the PbPs I’ve seen, one of the biggest issues is always combat. So here’s what I do with regards to keeping things moving nicely. I update combats every 24 hours, regardless of how many PCs have posted (so if you decide to disappear in the middle of a combat, you might end up with a dead PC, fair warning). At that time, I will update the movements of all non-players involved in the fight and resolve all PC attacks, ending the round. The idea here is to keep combats from slowing down the game, so that even a massive, epic battle won’t take more then a week.
Inside of that day, PCs can move whenever they want, but only once (obviously). Basically this is so that people post when they can instead of waiting for others. Initiative is handled as follows. All monsters and NPCs go at one set initiative. PCs who beat that initiative get to go once before the monsters do (regardless of when relative to each other). Then after the monsters go, all PCs can act again, then it’s time for all the monsters, then all the PCs, and so on.
PCs on hiatus will be considered to have ‘Aversion Armor’, in other words, they don’t get attacked. This only applies if you specifically told me before hand that you’re going on hiatus due to work or other real life issues. If you’re just not posting during the fight you’re fair game.
A few 4E specific caveats. First off, I
urge you to avoid Interrupts, particularly those that change how a battle would evolve. So an interrupt that would damage or inflict a minor status effect on a monster (-2 to attacks), is fine, but anything that would change how a monster acts (stunning, a push, immobilization) is not. As for Fighter marks (which are interrupt attacks), the DMs will probably just roll them for you when it comes up (so if you don’t like that, don’t be a fighter). You can also have ‘readied interrupts’, where you tell the DM that if X happens, then you will use Y interrupt. In general, if you’re taking an interrupt power, talk to the DMs and we’ll see what we can do.
Secondly, all effects from a power take effect when the DM closes the PC portion a round, and are counted off from that moment. In other words, if you use a power that gives your allies +5 damage until the end of your next turn, then if another PC attacks right now, before the DM advances the combat,
he does not get the damage boost. However, after the DM updates the combat, then in that round the ally gets the +5 damage bonus. This same rule applies to monsters and NPCs, and it’s to keep order within a combat day from being an important issue (“I must wait on posting until after the warlord!”).
Online Dice Rollers
I don’t really care
what kind of online dice-roller you use, so long as it has an email verification element to it (my email is in my profile, though I think all of you have it in any case). Here’s a pair of dice-rollers to get you started, but if you find something you prefer, feel free to use it, just run it by me first:
House Rules
As with just about any game, the Shattered City will have some house-rules. In order of importance, they are as follows:
- <>Guns!: Firearms will be run largely identically to crossbows. A pistol is equivalent to a hand crossbow, but also has the High Crit property. A rifle is equivalent to a crossbow, also with the High Crit property. On the downside, however, firearms cost twice as much as a crossbow (only relevant for non-magical firearms) and make much more noise. In all other cases, guns will be treated as crossbows. Any feat or power that requires you to use a crossbow will also work with a pistol or rifle, any magic items which are crossbows also have rifle and pistol versions, etc.
<>Extended Rests: I’m taking a page from WoD and L5R and pegging the use of daily abilities to OOC time frames. You can no longer take an Extended Rest during a chapter. Instead, you automatically take them at the start of a chapter, and begin each chapter with a fresh set of healing surges, daily powers, etc. To put it in another way, all abilities which used to say ‘daily’ are now ‘per-chapter’.
You can usually expect about 1-3 combats per chapter, usually towards the low end of that.
<>Subdual Damage: Instead of getting a choice to kill or knock-out a foe automatically, we’ll be using the 3E system of nonlethal damage. To quickly summarize, you can take a -2 penalty to your attack roll to inflict nonlethal damage. When the amount of lethal + nonlethal damage a character takes exceeds their hitpoints, they are knocked out. If all of their damage is lethal, then they are killed instead.
<>Rituals: Some rituals work a little differently in the Demiplane of Dread, so here’s a list of rituals from the PHB and PHBII that are different. (Note that I’m only paying attention to rituals up to level 14, since the PCs will not exceed that level over the course of the campaign). Lastly, you need DM permission to take rituals outside of the PHB and PHBII.
- <>Commune with Nature, Call Wilderness Guide: In order to get information, this ritual summons up nature spirits who may be prickly, mischievous, or outright dangerous if angered. Use with care.
<>Consult Mystic Sages: This ritual does not exist in Ravenloft.
<>Control Weather: This ritual functions normally, but you need government permission before changing the weather patterns over Port-a-Lucine, and wherever you cast it you can be held liable for damages caused by the weather.
<>Knock, Passwall, Lullaby, Tune of Merriment: This ritual works as normal, but because it’s frequently used by criminals, possession of these ritual scrolls is restricted. Penalties include a fine or jailtime, and it can be used as evidence of intent in many crimes.
<>Raise Dead: This Ritual Does Not Exist. In Ravenloft, only divine miracles can grant a true resurrection. Immensely powerful artifacts and entities can also, sometimes, with a lot of effort and restrictions and danger, raise someone from the dead. But for mortals, resurrection is something you read about in old church documents, nothing more.
<>Shadow Walk: While this does let you into the Shadow Realm, you’ll need to find your own way out.
<>Speak with Dead: While this ritual usually works, there is always the (slim) chance of awakening an angry ghost or wraith, particularly when dealing with people who died in traumatic circumstances or were powerful and evil in their lives. This ritual is also considered a stepping stone on the path to true necromancy, so it’s quite illegal (jail time is guaranteed).
Reroll Tokens
In place of the bonus XP system from EoA, I plan to use a Reroll Token system. Basically, for going above and beyond the call of duty in the game, PCs can acquire one or more reroll tokens. When the PCs get
five reroll tokens, they can trade them to reroll on attack roll, saving throw, skill or ability check, or damage roll. PCs cannot have more than
twenty reroll tokens saved at a time. PCs can only use one reroll token for any given roll, even if they still fail the roll on the second time.
Some things you can get reroll tokens for, as well as a general idea of the going rate:
- <>Art & Writing: If you can draw something for the Shattered City, that is always good for some reroll tokens. A full, colored work of art will usually go for about six tokens, with more and less elaborate pieces getting more or fewer tokens. Writing goes similarly at about six tokens for a solid short story, and scaling from there.
<>Posting: Really good posts might snag the poster a reroll token, or even more than one in exceptional cases. I tend to look for posts that show a lot of character development. DMs also take recommendations from other PCs and spectators.
<>Feedback: I’ll pretty regularly ask for feedback, and offer reroll tokens for well-thought out and constructive criticism. You can usually get four reroll tokens off a chapter’s worth of feedback.
<>Side-RPs: Taking the time to get to know a fellow PC or NPC is always good for a reroll token. Just find one of the DMs on AIM or schedule something over email.
<>Miscellaneous: There’s always other opportunities around. Often I’ll randomly grab a player off AIM and ask them to look up the history of the Capuchin catacombs or something like that. Or a PC can ask and get tasked to do NPC write-ups from their perspective, or bits of literary criticism. If you want reroll tokens, you only need to ask to get opportunities for them.
You can use reroll tokens after you’ve found out that you’ve failed a roll, but once I’ve processed them (I’ve advanced the combat round, say), then it’s too late to use them. If I’m on AIM, you can always drop me a line and ask me if something hit. If I’m not, then you can put an addendum onto your post that goes “
IF I miss this attack, I’ll use a reroll token.” If you hit with the attack, no reroll token is deducted.
Rule Zero
Last, but not least, the DMs reserve the right to tinker with the game at our leisure, if we think it makes for a better game.