The Ashen King - Primer
About this campaign
First of all, a disclaimer: It's been a while since I've run a campaign, and I've never really written a campaign primer before. If I miss anything important, or I've overloaded you with needless information, then PLEASE let me know. As a general rule, I much prefer that people prioritise honesty over politeness with me, and that extends to beyond D&D. In terms of tone, Zemia is quite the serious setting with apocalyptic and grimdark tendencies, but that doesn't mean you can't have a bit of goofiness! In my experience, campaigns where everyone takes themselves super seriously are often the least engaging, so I'll try to shift my tone to match the room's mood. Phew, that already felt rather serious! There's a lot to go over, and instead of sending you on a wild goose chase through my many World Anvil articles (many of which are quite barebones as a lot of my worldbuilding is written in other places), I've compiled some key info here. I'll link relevant articles here and there so you can read further if you want.Fiṟa: Zemia's Conlang
The first thing I'd like to draw your attention to is some info on the conlang used throughout Zemia: Fiṟa. This page gives a key on how to pronounce the various characters it contains.The Land of Zemia
Although the page you're on has information on the campaign, this page is the one with information on the world. I'd recommend at least skimming it before proceeding.Character Creation
Alright, this isn't the Forgotten Realms and that means that character options are going to be a little different. I'll go through each stage of creating a character and talk about what's changed.Backstory
You're free to do whatever you want with your backstory, but I'd encourage you to talk to me about your ideas so that we can bounce ideas about how they would fit into the world. It's important to remember that, by the nature of D&D, Zemia is just as much your world as it is mine.Race/Species
Most setting-specific species are onyl designed for the setting that they were created for, so they might not make sense in Zemia. I've organised the species list into a table showing whether there are lore implications that diverge significantly from the Forgotten Realms for each species,which might affect which ones want to choose. Anything not listed is unlikely to be permitted (because it would break the lore in some way), but if you really want something then there's no harm in asking. Custom Lineage represents a mixture of multiple different species. This could include blending the stats of two different species, but another interesting way of doing it is using Ancestry & Culture, which is an alternate character creation system that creates a difference between species and culture: Perfect for an elf raised by kobolds, or something along those lines. I have some of the expansions to this book that I can share upon request, which include additional options.Background
Backgrounds follow backstory fairly naturally. Any non-setting specific background is fine, and if none of them fit your character very well then we can work together to create a new one.Class
Classes are a complex matter. I've made a quick summary on the place of each class in Zemia, and my thoughts on them. Feel free to debate me on any of this.Artificer
Artificers have always been the odd one out of the 5e classes, seeming to fit in a different technological era to the rest. Magic items are rare in Zemia due to the difficulty and secrecy around production methods, and there are basically no robots of any form. This means that any artificer character would be severely restricted and so I would generally discourage taking this class altogether, although an Alchemist probably wouldn't have much issue. Artificers do exist in Zemia, although usually as craftsmen instead of adventurers.Barbarian
Barbarians as a whole don't have much lore attached to them, and so aren't affected by being in a different setting.Bard
Bards take many different forms across Zemia, but many of them are in essence a sort of clerics of the harpy goddess of music, Cohr. They channel the goddess's divine artistry into their own works. Not all bards follow this, including bards who don't follow the Pantheon religion. These bards are the same as those in the forgotten realms, using magic as a conduit for self-expression.Cleric & Druid
See the Relgion section in the Zemia Setting Primer before continuing. The difference between a cleric and a druid is what religion they follow: clerics are followers of The Pantheon and druids are followers of the Four Gods.Druids in the Forgotten Realms don't make much sense to me. If you look up the definition of a druid, it's "A priest, magician, or soothsayer in the ancient Celtic religion". This means that druids in real life are identical to clerics, just of a certain religion. The connection to nature that Wizards of the Coast ascribes to druids is inherited from the Celtic religion's connections to nature.
Within Zemia, the Four Gods religion is the most similar to the Celtic religion and so it would make sense that druids essentially acted as clerics for this religion.
Mechanically, this doesn't change anything about the druid, but it is a large change in the lore. As a representative of a religion that is oppressed in the area where The Ashen King is set, a druid might need to hide their identity as a follower of the Four Gods, and would need to be much more careful when using their abilities.
Fighter
Like with barbarians, fighters are a pretty general concept and aren't affected by their settingMonk
Monks, as in those that channel spiritual energies, are respected in Zemia. The connection between one's spirit/soul and Mana is strong, and so their powers are seen as mysterious and dangerous forms of magic that come from within themselves rather than the Mana around them, one that can still function even in environments like anti-magic fields.Paladin
See the Cleric and Druid section above for information on religion in Zemia.Paladins in 5e are interesting as they can be played either as a a holy warrior which is essentially a type of cleric, or as a fanatic fighter with a very strong sense of self and belief, independent of religion.
Ranger
Rangers are well-respected across the many rural areas of Zemia. As wilderness survivors, they have a close connection to nature that isn't tied to their religion like with druids.Rogue
Rogues are a general concept and aren't changed by being in ZemiaSorcerer
All living beings in Zemia, by extension of having a soul, have some magical potential. In many regions of the continent, most people know at least some everyday magics to help with everyday chores like drying their hair, or reaching something from a high shelf. Sorcerers are those born with a much higher proficiency for this magic than others, and usually have the unique ability to store an amount of magic within their own soul, represented by sorcery points.Warlock
Warlocks have an interesting relationship with clerics. One could say that a warlock's connection to their patron is similar to a cleric's connection to the gods: a transaction that allows you to burrow some of their power to use for yourself.There are a few beings that one could enter a contract with in Zemia and finding one is no easy feat, so the concepts of a warlock is poorly understood by many.
Wizard
Please see the explanation of magic given in the Zemia Setting Primer, mentioned at the top of this page.Wizards operate in a similar manner to the Forgotten Realms: they are arcane researchers who research the fundamental aspects of Mana. Due to the cultural differences in views on spell innovations, eastern wizards are generally more of the researcher type, while western wizards act more as preservers of the arcane and generally refuse the idea of creating new spells.
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