The Campaign Builder's Guild

The Age of Soot
Chapter One: Into The Smoke


Illus. Joy Garnett

Our tribe has always been one of peace and harmony. Long have we lived in these woods, protecting the sacred stones and living out our lives in modest solitude. Much have we heard of the outside world, too many times have others told us of pain and sorrow. But we are happy here. Maybe not as individuals, but we as a tribe are united with both ourselves and those around us. We do not know why it happened to us, why the sky has turned black. We do not know why the sacred stones have fallen, why a soft red and orange light fills the night sky. Something is coming. I can feel its fury...
   - Lazz Duur, Centaur Seer

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The Age of Soot is an adventure into a new world, one of excitement and death, adventure and destruction. You will explore rich, deep woodlands, delve into ancient ruins, race across verdant plains, and scale the steepest mountains in the search to end the ultimate threat!

The purpose of this campaign is to run a long-lasting game filled with excitement and adventure. I post a lot, and like to provide lots of detail and precision. Iâ,¬,,¢m looking for PCs who will be online a lot and are able to post frequently. While post size isnâ,¬,,¢t too big a deal, I prefer people who make posts long enough to cover all the details of what their character is doing.

- 4-8 PCs
- Core, Completes, and Races of the Wild
- 1st level
- 32 point buy
- Maximum gold for your class
- Races Allowed:

*Elf
*Halfling
*Raptorian
*Gnoll
*Centaur
*Killoren
*Catfolk
*

Florian
*Canus
*Karnyr
*Sarrun
*Kirik
[/list]
Note: if you choose a character with a Level Adjustment, you will recieve a bigger challenge than those who do not. I also ask that you all use the racial class versions of the gnoll and centaur.

House Rules

-All outfits cost money and have weight
-Starting familiars cost 100 gp worth of summoning materials

The World
You are all to start as part of the clan Shuris, a society created through an alliance between multitudes of different races from ages past. Shuris is located deep within the Nal Forest, a vast expanse of woodlands so large most of you have never fully explored all of its wonders. While the clan itself is relatively small, it holds several uneasy alliances with the neighboring tribes, allowing many different creatures to travel freely between the groups with little more than nervous tension. The stones have not fallen yet, but are beginning to waver, causing great concern amongst the guardian clerics of Obad-Hai, the primary deity of the Shuris clan.

Ok then, I'll edit this if i must, but i have some questions for you....  i'd really like to play a gnoll, and i'll flesh it out some...  but I don't have Races of the Wild and therefore I can't read the updated gnoll stats.  can you post them, or is that not OGC?  If not, can I do this?

Oh, and by the way, I am most definitely interested in playing.

Well, I'm not sure about posting the stats on these threads (copyright laws and such). I'll PM it to you. (Go to Profile to read PMs)

If you want to try some of my more gnoll-adapted races, I would suggest you take a look at the Canus and the Karnyr. The Canus are effectively half-gnolls that are wolf-like in appearance with no LA, and the Karnyr are a species that is bestial in appearance and VERY ferocious.

ok, I'll take a look, but if you could get me the gnoll stats i'd be very happy...  

i know I'm supposed to test the races, but I truly love Gnolls, incase you couldn't tell by the sig and avi...

"A vicious creature with feral instincts, who strugles internally to restrain his sanguine urges to slaughter everyone around him..."

I see a concept emerging here...  and thanks for the chance to play a gnoll!

And that's why the Karnyr are my favorite :)

If you still want to use a Gnoll, I would most likely use the same starting gold as the Ranger since the two have the same HD and it's the Gnoll's favorite class. I would, however, promote you give the Karnyr a whirl since they are, in my opinion, a better race to build upon. Their natural weapon(s) unlock a few unique feats from MM and Savage Species, and their personalities lead to more in-depth characters.  8)

EDIT: after going over Savage Species, I have found there are no feats which the Karnyr can take.

well, I don't have savage species, but i guess I'll give the Karnyr another look...  but I really do like gnolls, and you were the one who put it as an option...

Are you sure the Karnyr shouldn't have at least a +1 LA?  they seem awfully stron, what with natural weapons and all...

Anyway, I really like them, I might play one, but the problem i am having is jusifying why one would adventure at all?

Quote from: Natural 20"A vicious creature with feral instincts, who strugles internally to restrain his sanguine urges to slaughter everyone around him..."

I see a concept emerging here...  and thanks for the chance to play a gnoll!

Oops. Heh, sorry. When you were talking about fighting feral instincts to kill everything around, karnyr popped into my mind. If you want to play a gnoll more than a karnyr, by all means do so.

Quote from karnyr description:
Karnyr travel across the land almost always to seek out a worthy challenge or to carry out a task assigned by their clan. A handful also choose to adventure with friends, but since karnyr normally do not hold close ties with anyone outside of their clans, these explorations are frequently cut abruptly short.

The difference is: while karnyr have that powerful bite attack, they can't hold or weild anything in that hand. This is a huge setback as it limits their choice in weaponry, as well as making them unable to use ranged weapons (except for crossbows, which they need to have someone else reload and must shoot with one hand).

Ok, it just seems a bit complicated to me, what with all of their special abilities...  and to admit the truth, I've never been a player before, on PbP or in real life.  and Dm'ing has truly been a limited experience as well...

Hey, we've all gotta start somewhere.  :)

i suppose...  did the Races people at WoTC think it was a big enough trade-off to leave them at +0 LA?

The race has been on the Races thread for around 3 months now without any objection to their level adjustment. I have recieved comments on all the races given, but they all state they are balanced, if a little odd.

alright, what level game are we talking about here?

And is it gonna be more outdoorsy, or dungeon-environment?(ranger vs. fighter choice decision here...)

Should I just wait for he other players to decide what (class/character type) I should be?("If you build it, they will come")

EDIT:  alright, if the WoTC boards ssaid they were alright, then I will concede to their judgement...  I'll just let somebody else play one though, as they seem very complicated to me...  

Then again, I have looked at your Florians before, and they do sound fun...  maybe I should play one of them...?

Quote from: Natural 20alright, what level game are we talking about here?

And is it gonna be more outdoorsy, or dungeon-environment?(ranger vs. fighter choice decision here...)

Should I just wait for he other players to decide what (class/character type) I should be?("If you build it, they will come")

EDIT:  alright, if the WoTC boards ssaid they were alright, then I will concede to their judgement...  I'll just let somebody else play one though, as they seem very complicated to me...  

Then again, I have looked at your Florians before, and they do sound fun...  maybe I should play one of them...?

The Florians would be fun too. They would be the most difficult race to play out as a character, but if you can pull it off that would be great. If you feel uncomfortable with that, just do what you feel to be right.

Most of the campaign is going to be outside (you're starting in the woodlands, as mentioned in the "The World" section, above), so a ranger would be most suitable. However, you will be going underground or in cramped spaces from time to time, so I have no real recommendation in that department.