Here's a fun challenge. Write a one-page campaign setup in the same spirit of Holmes' setup for the Zenopus sample dungeon in the D&D blue book. This will probably make it into the adventure module I'm working on for Dungeonteller. No spoilers here, everyone feel free to read on. Would you be pumped to start an adventure after reading this?
Stormgate is a rather small, cramped
seaport, the last foothold of a distant human empire that once tried and failed
to conquer the interior of a hostile land that stretches hundreds of miles to
the north and east of the city. Its glory days are a thousand years gone, the
imperial troops withdrawn to guard more vital frontiers, its fortifications
crumbling. The imperial flag still flies in over the city, if only to ensure
that its citizens must add their taxes to the empress’s coffers. The oldest
families still take pride in their imperial heritage, and an empty seat in the
city hall is reserved for the imperial governor, should the empress ever
remember to appoint one.
Faded though it may
be, Stormgate still exports a steady stream of curious artifacts and precious
gems and metals. During the conquest, the imperial legions plundered the hordes
of dwarfs, elves, vampires, and dragons that occupied the neighboring lands.
Not all of the plunder found its way over the sea to the empire. Forgotten
hordes are said to remain in and beneath the city, hidden in catacombs, vaults,
and secret store rooms. The footsoldiers of the empire joined odd local cults
dedicated to the forces of Chaos, and built subterranean shrines to their new
gods, a form of worship that continues, albeit secretly. The soldiers’ plunder
attracted thieves, smugglers, and swindlers, who somehow never left, and became
a permanent criminal underworld, literally, with tunnels and passages
crisscrossing beneath the city streets connecting gamblers’ dens and thieves’
safehouses.
So rich was the
collection of magical artifacts wrested from the empire’s inhuman enemies that
a College of Magic was chartered to document and study it all, in the hopes of
giving the legions’ warcasters new offensive spells for which its foes could
offer no defense. Much was learned, and hints grew that somewhere Out There, a
tract of primeval Chaos remained, that if found, could be used to tap
unheard-of magical power. Some of the empire’s greatest heroes were sent on a
quest to find the so-called Font of Power, and when it was found (in a place
whose exact location is lost to history), they also found Lords of Chaos set on
defending it.
The ensuing battle
drove the legions back to the walls of Stormgate, where in a desperate last
gambit, the city’s most powerful warriors and wizards gave their lives to stop
the forces of Chaos, leaving a weakened, wounded city to oversee the gradual
loss of its territories as the inhuman races slowly reclaimed their lands. Too
much blood had been shed for too little gain, and the empire cut its losses,
returning the legions across the sea and leaving the city to its fate. The
College of Magic dwindled and lost its charter, and the imperial governorship
was recalled, after being used for several centuries as a posting for imperial
functionaries who had fallen into especial disfavor.
Most city folk say
it’s only the usefulness of the city’s link to human-made goods and materials
that keeps Stormgate from being swept into the sea. The dwarfs of the interior,
once enemies of the empire, have set up shop in the city to make and sell their
gadgets, and envoys from the elven lands are seen, making overtures of peace to
the Knights Protector, an order of paladins who have taken up the city’s
defense in the absence of imperial troops. The elves are concerned about the
potential for Chaos to rise again in the land, and seem to be seeking allies
among the stalwart paladins.
.JPG)
