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New Journal, Entry 1
Moon, North: Waxing Crescent
Age: 13

I got a new journal, Dad said the old one got lost in the move between rings. There were a lot of people coming, so someone probably just thought it was theirs. I think we're the last people to leave the bourg. The last time I saw this many people was when that big group from the Steppe came through.

New Journal, Entry 2
Moon, North: Waxing Crescent
Age: 13

The Chevalier said his keep, it was filled up from the rest of the rings that came before us. Dad almost complained about having to pay a tax in food even when we were not staying. Cheswick stopped him and said it would be not smart.

New Journal, Entry 3
Moon, North: Waxing Crescent
Age: 13

I punched Kaylka in the face for stealing a peach from our stash when it wasn't mealtime. Dad said that was bad manners. Cheswick laughed.

New Journal, Entry 4
Moon, North: Waxing Crescent
Age: 13

Cheswick's men are loud, rougher than the militia of the Bourg, when we had one. They're Ringrunners, Dad said it's different than being Mercenaries, we pay them anyways, though. They clean the road before we get there, and open the door.

New Journal, Entry 5
Moon, North: Waxing Crescent
Age: 13

We saw the Durnstons, or, their wagon. They left after the Steppes folk came, a long time ahead of us. Cheswick took what was left from it, Dad yelled at him. I don't think Day is alive, then.

Hi,

I've been thinking about this off and on for a bit, but interacting with a couple of new players has led me to believe that it would be a good idea to either change some dialogue from the generic refugees in the Hope or add a new NPC.

Who could explain some specifics of the Nothing Apocalypse that came in the earlier chapter, the broad strokes at least? I know the Storyteller goes over some stuff, but I've had to elucidate on concepts many times.

Hi, I've been playing various pcs interested in the lore and secrets of the world since the chapter start. Notably, none of these PCs have actually ever achieved their goals due to me learning OOCly over time about the various skills needed to actually learn anything, both in the world and the Archaeology System.

Before I start, I know this system is entirely optional and I don't need to engage with it, but I do want to engage with it, I just want it to be better for me and everyone else who will engage with it after.

Currently, the main part of the system is collecting various bits and assembling them on a crafting table. These bits randomly spawn in certain areas and are placed behind a check to gather them. That sounds fine on paper, yes. However, to make the easiest "craftable" in the system, you need to make 5 of these checks. Then finally, another check to actually assemble the "craftable", that's six checks total for the easiest one. Another line requires 10 checks to gather, and an eleventh to assemble.

My current PC, with 16 Intelligence, SF: Arch can only make the "middle" and "hard" half the time. Meaning every time I fail a check, that's more time I spend wandering around the desert looking for ruined spots to make another check on. This is made worse, because the type of dig spot is random, depending on the area. Meaning even if I am 80% of the way done with collecting the pieces, the dig spot isn't guaranteed to be the item I need to attempt to create the "craftable".

When finally you assemble the "craftable" and enter its result, generally your reward after facing its dangers will be gated behind another check for a different skill, however, this one is worse. If you fail this check, you receive nothing, despite having spent a week gathering these pieces. On the expeditions I completed, my reward was an item that let me use it. To my surprise, using it gave me -another- check of an ever higher DC with an entirely different skill.

That's three skills and 8+ checks for the easiest line of expeditions, and its DCs range from mid to HIGH. The final checks, with the third skill, were so high I needed to find a bard who was purposefully built to challenge them. Despite the fact that my own PC's build is so warped to bend over backward for these checks.

I suggest the amount of DCs be either cut down, or the digging system within an expedition allows checks to be repeated rather than a singular save or suck.

Hi!

Averroes lived from 2023-05-16 to 2023-07-09, which is maybe a record for one of my PCs.

Before I get into her life, I'm going to thank, Bearic, Roxy, Abala, Ninelives for their DM support and Amelie, Domhnall, Lynneth, Mari, Afsana, Echemmon, Cosine, Galen, Rennik, Joachim, Yomar, Salvatore for being cool.

Averroes was born to one of the wandering clans of the Smoulderpeaks and was a child during the events of the Deluge Apocalypse. Her father kept her, and himself, safe at the cost of every life in her clan. He later perished during the ten years following, in the hellish Ash Waste. Leaving Averroes alone, as she finally found sanctuary in Ephia's Well. She never forgave her father for his "rouketh" manner and sought to be the opposite of a coward, to the point of profound stupidity.

She believed every citizen of the Well deserved a second chance, because what is Ephia's Well if not a second chance for the whole of the Disc, if the Pilgrim's Prophecy is to be believed This hero complex led to her eventual exile, batting for the wrong baby-eating team later in her career for the Janissary, and contrary to popular belief, she wasn't a Bashmu-Kar plant. She was, however, correctly picked by Colmes for not being true to the Legion at that point, having planned to defect to the Tonsured should the Legion ever come to blows with the caravan.

Anyways, that's basically all of her story I can tell at this point, but. I really recommend people make PCs with faith as a big thing in their morals, it's fun to have to defer your moral judgements to other PCs teachings or ask them for advice. I also suggest the Janissary, but make friends before you join the Legion or you might end up lonely like I did.

Some assorted screens:
Friend?
Fren.
Cave Gaming
Speed Trap
Familiar Face
Cosine
Charity

A brown papyrus cover, over a roughly bound book of scrawlings.

War and State

The Silver Age, Line of the Sultans

Averroes Tashfhin

The defining quality of the Line of the Sultanate is warfare. This age is characterized by near-endless warfare, calamity, and apocalypse not seen since the mostly forgotten Kinslain War. From Uzpek to Osman VI, The Disc has been embroiled in conflict with six major powers fighting over what remains of Marib's Caliphate.

So ubiquitous is this conflict, that entire theaters of conflict are glossed over in our histories. Such as the arrival of the Orentid Dynasty, the breaking of the Thousand Clans at Nusrum, or Baz'eels following rout from the Rampart. This is likely due to the tangling politics and general lack of apparent enduring conflict, which I posit is one of Baz'eels greatest shortcomings. These conflicts, factions, and rival houses, should be treated with respect as one with a sword to your throat should be. We must understand what allowed them to flourish, to stamp them out.

It may seem natural to hand wave these wars as normal battles of successor states, but I state that conflict on this scale had never been done before. Near five-hundred years of constant war, strife, and calamity. When you put such into perspective, it is a wonder the Disc did not become a waste-ridden place like before. A wonder we were put into such dire strait by the Ring-Fall, and the death of the King, Honored Be His Name, Savior of All.

This should put into scale, reader, that Baz'eel, despite being the rightful heir to the Caliphate. We are not immortal, we can be defeated, and such is natural in our world. This is a lesson Qadira, and her Admiral Ravindra should have taken to heart, reading the hundred years of history which came before them. So driven by the greed of the Glimmer-Pearl trade, they rushed to bring strife to an enemy they knew little of, worse, that they underestimated.  What does Ravindra's charge into an unmoving, idle, and pacified fleet signal, if not underestimation? This was no trap, a trap requires one to be tricked. This singular event sums up the entire war of pearls.

That being, something that should have never happened under the Sultana Qadira, Al-Naffaya, while valuable, was not worth the entire destruction of the royal navy, nor was the Sultana's wounded pride worth the War of Pearls. The event which I posit, nearly single-handedly has forced Baz'eel into this period of Stagnation, only recently broken by The Eagle.

The Sultana should have still sought war, but war need not be quick, it need not be a single snap decision in anger that leads to the death of thousands. It requires planning, forethought, and faith. Money should have been spent to reinforce our trading routes, our coastal ports hardened, and our mages allowed reign to conduct operations ahead of our fleet. Al-Naffaya might have been taken, yes, but the war would have been won, not lost by a singular suicidal charge.  It has been nearly thirty years since Qadira's death, and still Baz'eel has not recovered from the loss. Al-Naffaya in no way, could produce such funds that would make the millions of dinari burned in these years, worth it.

Sources of Sophron:

War of Pearls, Nazir ibn-Yusuf
Lives of the Maribid 5th Ed, Rayrul

Let the tale of the Wyrm, The Bad One, unfurl like the coiling tendrils of darkness, carrying the essence of wisdom and transformation. Attend closely, and listen with keen audition.

Lo, raise thy weapon, ye teeth of bronze, and let Kula's cry spill from your lips. Unleash the dormant power within, compelling thee to prove thy worthiness to that which lies beyond the mundane realm. Display thine indomitable strength, for it is through stilling the very beat of The Bad One's own heart that thou mayest demonstrate thy unwavering resolve. Strike him down, hero, and in his demise, extinguish the fiery tempest of destruction.

Come forth, o' hero, and confront the raging inferno unscathed, if thy awakening to the world is true and unyielding. Transcend the limitations set by the Wyrm, surmount the insurmountable, and let the radiance of thy triumph illuminate the darkest recesses of existence. Yet, heed this foreboding admonition: when feeble souls recklessly court their own demise, they shall find it lurking ever closer, for death is patient, biding its time.

The Wyrm imparts this timeless lesson: it is through the crucible of conflict that one's mettle is forged, where true growth and enlightenment reside. Embrace the trials that beset thee, for they are the harbingers of transformation and self-discovery. By vanquishing the flames of adversity, one ascends to a heightened state of being.

Slay the Wyrm, but know it's lesson.

Ravioci, Honorable Brother in Faith

I have been appointed as your Liasion to the fourth by Lieutenant Rennik Colmes, I look forward to further cooperation.

Regards,
Janissary Averroes Tashfhin, The Aetheling

[PREFACE]

PREFACE

I am Aigiarne, I am the culmination of all that I have learned.

From my Mother, Non-No, I learned to govern myself and obey the wizened elderly of the village.

From my Father, Shakushain, I learned of ceremony and good manners.

From my Tutors, simple and harmonious living based on trade and favor.

From my Ringing Band, tenacity, iron will, and acting only on certain matters.

From Kuriv Hanj, to abstain from florid rhetoric, to maintain a curtness and directness in my writing. To remember what is only worth remembering, and to discard all else.

From Tsolomon, to receive favors, gifts, and promises with humility but without being hobbled by such things.

From the Peer, Euric Freward, I learned what envy, hypocrisy, and despotism are in a government. From him, I also learned that those who consider themselves noble, are often deficient in the ability to convey humanity.

From the Shaman, Shimabukuro, to not idly ignore my friends should they find fault, and to eagerly accept them should they attempt to strive above it.


I was born and raised within a ring, it has been so long that I barely remember the enumeration. Ring two-hundred-and-fifty, or thereabouts, is what I would guess. Within this journal, I will write what I can of the Old City. What existed before this age of Ash and Desert, beget by a dead King and the end of a World.

Hark! Fellow artists and around with glee, a tournament of wordplay, let it be. Thy chance to prove thy wit and skill so keen, and seize the prize of three hundred dinar seen.

For in this contest victory is sweet, and to the winner goes the highest feat. But fear not if you're second in the line, two hundred dinar still a prize to shine.

Oh, but wait! A twist in this game we see, An extra hundred dinar offered be. To he or she or thee, whose wit can most defly bring. A satire of monotone Hornsby, who's wails ring.

Write and send letter to me, in the Krak De Rosa, to enter! Fair Jocasta, do not be bitter!

This was Aster, a poetry Master.

Traditions

Fables retold,
In each and every verse,
The Balladeers keep alive
Old heroes,
Legends.

Opinions or advice for a fledgling writer?

Thank you,
Aster Meadowlarke

On the Krak de Rosa

Amidst the bloody stone and rugged earth,
A single rose did sprout and find its birth.
Its tender petals, bright and crimson red,
A stark contrast to the harshness it's wed.

For though the ground was hard and unforgiving,
The rose refused to yield, its will unshrinking.
It drew its strength from deep within the earth,
And with each passing day, it proved its worth.

The thorns that grew around it, sharp and long,
Were like a shield, protecting it from wrong.
For though the stone was stained with blood and pain,
The rose's beauty helped to soothe the strain.

And so it bloomed, a symbol of defiance,
A sign that beauty can arise from violence.
For even in the darkest, harshest place,
A rose can grow and bloom with gentle grace.

Hi, I love the idea and potential themes of a sorcerer dedicated to combining the martial arts with arcane might, but I am very bad at this video game. I am sure other, more adept players, don't see any problems or potential to improve spellsword as it is now, but I have some thoughts, and they aren't even additions.

As of now, Spellswords get DR 5/1 at level 8, along with another +1 ab. Currently they also gain +1 AC at that level, from a bonus that should have been removed.

I feel it would be nice for the DR 5/1 to get switched with the level 5 bonus, which is currently +2 Magical DMG to Weapon. Delaying the offensive bonus to 8, to hang out with the +1 AB.

Giving the Sorcerer a defensive bonus at an early level means, they'll be doing what a Spellsword should be doing, faster, getting into combat and hitting people with said sword like a wildly inaccurate arcane glass cannon.  This also, allows the Spellsword to free up a level 2 slot for something thematic, like Curse of Impending Blades (SpellSWORD) or Masochism (Playing a Spellsword).

        March of the Lessers
    "Better to not be at all than not be noble."

"The dissolution of the Guild of Lessors, the burning of deeds, debts, and history, has left the always struggling and rarely influential minor houses and fame-seeking knights-errant in disarray. All clamoring for any shred of authenticity they still have to prove their bloodline and titles.

Some, Knights of Summer, now plunged into the darkness of Winter, seek to get their claims and aid from the source himself, The King.

This group is currently headed by the daft Rowan Forager, and their house is the head of it. "

We're looking for people who can play evening CST, around 3 PM to Midnight. I or Astra can hand over a more accurate schedule tool if needed. You don't need to be a Forager to join, but if you want to you can. Just talk to me, or Astra.

 Hi, I am really bad at doing things on the forums and kind of teary-eyed, so bear with me.

Gethin Winespill was my first Ring-Runner, first druid, and first semi-faction leader. His concept was much different than what he turned out to be, originally a count loyal duelist who'd never leave the ward. Turned into a run-away druid who'd at all costs oppose the Count. I can't say much more without giving away plot things, but Gethin was a very fun character to play because of the people he knew, hated, and loved.

Thank you Moonspear, Sunpurse, Druids, and especially every Heart-Seeker no matter how temporary they joined along, for playing with me.

  Glitt is trying to find and seat a mayor, or other governing body in Little Ticker that agrees broadly with House Glitt's views. In answer to Velstra's similar muster of  rabble and attempts to cut out a portion of the Burgage.
This is mostly directed to PCs who don't fit in with the broader peerage atmosphere, and set up some conflict against certain other houses. House Glitt is very unlikely to support a Evil PC or group as warning. PM me on Disco or here if you want to set up a time to chat.