Order of the Ouroboros Player's Guide
Disclaimer
This is the Player's Guide for the Order of the Ouroboros campaign. It is meant to serve as a hint towards what is to come and a guideline for how you might want to start building your characters in order to maximize their cohesion with the story. I have linked to various lore articles where applicable so feel free to fall down those rabbit holes to help get some ideas. There are many other articles that are published as well that might be common knowledge for a citizen of Vylderaine (or just because you've learned about it as players and your characters wouldn't know) feel free to take a look at these as well but if it is not linked in this guide it might not show up as often as those that are. Please read the guide in its entirety and then at the very bottom there is a section on what I need from you in order to continue the process of creating your PCs for this campaign. Please remember we are trying to keep as much PC details a secret from each other as possible to see if the extra surprise is fun. I will worry about party balance and making sure nobody steps on anyone else's toes.Setting
Intro
It is the 75th year of the Age of Horizons, it's been almost 35 years since the primordial colossus Griolkor was sundered in the southern reaches of Mrázastrach plunging the most of Vylderaine into a miniature ice age. Over the past decade the world has slowly been warming back up and the weather has more or less returned to normal. The world is rife with anticipation for the World's Fair this year. The Fair of 50 HRZN was unfortunately canceled due to the ice and snow making travel difficult, so this upcoming World's Fair is even more exciting than usual. Nations from all over Vylderaine, especially around the Provenance Ocean, are flocking to Carthacht in the Vairedanian Empire to visit or participate in this year's festivities. New techologies will be unveiled, cultures and art will be shared, games will be played, and five unlikely allies will meet for the first time...Themes
This campaign will be focusing on a small group of unlikely heroes roped into something outside of their own control. Rather than focusing on building armies and relationships to fight an incredible force that threatens a continent, this campaign will be more about investigations and unwraveling mysteries and going on a globe trotting adventure to find lost secrets and treasure. It will start in Carthacht and stay in the single city for awhile before branching out to lands unknown. Because of this, the campaign will have more city exploration and urban settings at first, and then later a healthy dose of wilderness travel/exploration and many more dungeons planned than before. Inspiration for the globetrotting and mystery solving components of this campaign come from franchises such as Indiana Jones, Uncharted, and Tomb Raider.Location(s)
The campaign will begin in the large city of Carthacht and the nearby town of Monolith in the province of Arthair in the Vairedanian Empire and will stay here for some time. Other locations around Vylderaine will certainly get a substaintial amount of the spotlight as well. Some of these locations might include:- The other provinces of the Vairedanian Empire
Deities/Religion
The vast majority of the people of Vylderaine worship one or all (benevolent) members of The Pantheon of Creators. However, certain places might worship certain ones over the others or one of the lesser deities; while some people who spend more time in nature and around the elements might worship mainly the Prime Elementals. The city of Carthacht and and town of Monolith also have a very heavy presence of Carthordian - Eternal Scholar / Father of Language worshipers as the city is believed to be his birthplace back when he was a mortal. The following deities might see a higher prescense in the setting either via influence, amount of followers, or more (in no particular order):Organizations
There are many different kinds of organizations/groups that exist in the world of Vylderaine, some that accept almost anyone and some that are more prestigious. The following international organzations will have a role in the setting but many others, including some that could be created to fit your desired backstory, will also be available after the campaign starts:Your Player Character
Details
- Level 1-20 campaign (can start at level 0 during your one on one intro session if you'd like, but everyone will be level 1 by session 1)
- Free archetype
- No ABP
Restrictions
I try to keep any restrictions for PC ideas to a minimum, however a big part of this campaign is a group of random nobodies who get in over their head. So for that reason any backstories, backgrounds, ancestries, or classes that involve being born as some sort of "chosen one" are out. This doesn't necessarily mean all uncommon and rare ancestries are out of the question, rare ancestries most likely will be, but if you feel very strongly about a certain one then run it by me and we can discuss to see if it would work. The main question to ask yourself when making your character is "Will this make my character someone who is great because they choose to be or simply because they were born rare/unique/special?" All of your characters must also have a basic working knowledge of the world at least as well. No being born literally yesterday, no raised in a cave or an isolated commune where you don't know anything. If you want to start as a hermit that is ok but you must still know how the world works and it might be a little harder to justify why you would want to spend so much time in a large city at the start of the campaign. In this campaign you are not required to play a goody-two-shoes character by any means but you must play a character who is willing to cooperate for the sake of the greater good, if even begrudgingly (ex. Han Solo). Other more specific restrictions include:- No worshipping evil deities
- No Exemplar class
- No planning on betraying the party
Ancestries
As mentioned earlier, common ancestries are all allowed and would fit right in in the setting anywhere, any uncommon or rare ancestries need to be asked about (don't get your hopes up about any rare). I will do my best to make an ancestry work if you have your heart set on it but I make no promises. You might also want to consider where you are from when picking your ancestry as well or vice versa. For example, if you want to play a dwarf then originating from Thast Mandavrik could add to your character's backstory, similarly desert elves are often from Ramilsahar. If you have decided on an ancestry and are curious about if there are any nations of origin that might make sense for them to be from you can ask.Backgrounds / Backstory
Pretty much any backgrounds that don't fall under the restrictions mentioned are fair game and can be made to fit the setting. If there is not an existing background that fits the backstory you want let me know and we can make one. For your character's origin, you can choose to be from almost anywhere in Vylderaine, but the locations mentioned in the Setting section will play a bigger role in the story. If you choose to be from Carthacht or Monolith you might know more about the setting at the start of the campaign, but if you choose to be from elsewhere you might know more about the setting later and it might be more unique to you since less people are likely to be from there. If your character chooses to follow a deity, either as part of their class or just casually as part of their character, you may wish to reference the Deities/Religions section above and determine which deity might be right for you based on where your character is from and what they are like. As for any organization you might wish to start as a member of or have your character aspire to you can look at the Organizations section above. Other new organizations will appear throughout the campaign as well and new ones can be created to fit your backstory potentially as well. Also consider your character's country of origin when picking their names and other cultural identifiers as well. At the bottom of each continent's article I have put a blurb describing what real or other fictional culture it is inspired by to help out. Also one thing to keep in mind is when you write your backstory, try not to add things to your backstory that you as a player would know but your character wouldn't know. It makes it easier to roleplay and allows me to surprise you easier with backstory stuff. If there is something you absolutely want to be apart of your character though and there's no way your character would know about it it is still fine to add it obviously.Classes/Skills
Pretty much any existing class could work well for this campaign (with the exception of Exemplar which is not allowed). If you choose to play a playtest class (ask first) then just know that once the full class comes out, if you choose to continue to play that class you must play the release version, not the playtest any longer. There will be ample opportunities for social skills, influencing and investigations so high charisma and/or intelligence classes and skills will work well but there will also be dungeon devling and wilderness explortation as well so more nature based classes will also have a chance to shine.Languages
Languages will not play a tremendously large role in the campaign. There will be a lot of different ones and none of them are likely to appear much more than others. All intelligent communities in Vylderaine speak Carthordian (Common) but unless you are planning on casting a wide net for languages there aren't any specific ones to pick over the others. Some common ones to pick however are:- Common Ancestry langauges (elven, gnomish, dwarvish etc.)
- Fey
- Elemental Langauges
- "Darker" languages (Necril, aklo, undercommon etc.)
What I Need from You
After you finish reading this guide in its entirety please consider the following questions and DM me on Discord your answers, once I have those from you we can continue the process of fleshing out your character and writing their backstory together. Remember don't share the answers to these questions with anyone if you wish to potentially share a backstory with someone then I will need the answers to the following questions from both of you before any character or backstory info should be shared.Class
What class/subclass would you like to play?Willingness to Share
If someone else wants to play the same class as you are you alright with that?* I will try and persuade people away from playing the same class and subclass
** If you are unwilling to share your class and the other person who wants the same class is willing to share then I would probably ask you to switch yours
Shared Backstory
Who, if anyone, do you want to have a shared backstory with?* Max. of two people.
** Once I have this answer from the both of you and you both say each other then we can start collaborating on your shared backstory, but not before just in case anyone decides to change their mind after I get everyone's answers.
Barebones Backstory
The answers to the following questions can be sent after the others as it might take some time for you to think of the answers. These questions are meant to help get us started on a backstory but you by no means need to have an entirely written backstory from this. After answering these questions we will work together to write your complete backstory to make sure your character is deeply entwined with the setting and story of the campaign.- What is your character's personal description? (ex. Physical characteristics, personality, etc.)
- What are your character's idealogies/beliefs? (ex. Religion, goals, moral intentions, etc.)
- Who are some significant people to your character, alive or dead? (ex. NPCs you want in your character's life or who used to be in their lives and shaped who they are somehow)
- What are some meaningful locations to your character? (ex. Where were they born? Where did they grow up? Where do they live now? Their favorite place to visit or spend time? etc.)
- What are some of your character's treasured possessions? (ex. a special piece of equipment, an heirloom from a family member, a random item that impacts your character)
- What are your character's flaws, fears, or phobias? (ex. Something to make your character more rounded and not great at everything. A character's lows really help bring out their highs)
- What are some other traits of your character that might not have fit into the other questions' answers?
- Any last backstory things you wish for me to plan ahead for before we begin collaborating on your complete backstory together?
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