Moonshire - Storyline

Storyline of the Moonshire Campaign World

1.1 Starting Point

The starting point where the players begin their adventure can vary per game done. 'One shot games' that are usually only one gaming session of a few hours can have different starting points. Also in a regular roleplaying game, the starting points can vary as the game events develop and the player characters travel around through the medieval lands in the game

The Mayor and landlord of Royal Oak, Rothan Blackshield would like you to come to the townhall urgently! The group is invited by the Mayor of Royal Oak and has come together to meet because of the increase in serious crime and the mayor of the village is very worried. There are dreaded rumours around of people being murdered every week. Through the lands, the yearly harvest festival is celebrated and many family members and friends travel through the lands. Their safety must be ensured and no strange rumours should pass to them. That would be a disgrace to our town!

And this is not all, something great is about to happen, the rise of...? An ancient item found...? Discovery of ...? A land, fractions united in an alliance and divided? Let's see and find out by making the storyline together!

Scenario: The players start in the village of Royal Oak and do not necessarily know each other through they know the mayor. Perhaps they are an old friend or they have once done a particular deed for him. Each of the players is on the mind of the mayor. They can come from many places of the Moonshire in any of the areas. Feel free to fantasize along for the storyline about the place from which your character came. The players can meet in the Town's square or just outside the town, it's up to the players

1.2 Overview

Below is a description of the general storyline:

The current king of the lands is King Archibald. He is the highest leader, settled with the royal council and the nobles in Silverdale. This is also the main province in the lands. He is peaceful, kind and also slow to take decisions. He tends to let his council or the nobles make the decisions. Some people complain that he is not hard enough

King Alexander the explorer was king before Archibald. He united different tribes and also explored much of the lands himself. He was more aggressive and liked by many people. Also he did not do anything to stop the slavery and next to the community, promoted individualism a lot. People did not necessarily need to help each other as it was more a survival of the fittest Alexander was king before Archibald but passed on the throne and eventually died 50 years ago. He was more aggressive and some people really wished he was on the throne

Now the lands are more populated because of Alexander's explorations, and even new settlers are exploring more lands now with the intention of building farms and establish new communities. This will certainly increase our trade routes. There is enough free space to explore for those who are adventurous enough to do so.

Also the lands contain forests with brigands, old ruins with perhaps items left by old civilizations, new animals and vegetation. There are plenty of jobs available to scout or keep safe the forest, as well as discovering old items or joining the military to help against brigands and solve local issues. Adventurers are also needed, moreover, this has been on the posters within the town hall. You don't have to be afraid that there is nothing to do!

1.3 Character Ideas to do

Are you starting to get an impression of the lands? Here are some ideas you could do when first arriving to the Moonshire area. These are just suggestions. You could visit,

1.4 Politics

The current rulership of Archibald is that much is tolerated, but there is also much bureaucracy. Black robed mages and priests are tolerated, but they are watched. They are also (at least they should be) stimulated by the seniors of the mage guilds and temples to help the towns, villages, peasants and army with their magic.

Tolerance: also races like orcs who can be violent and may look scary & aggressive sometimes are tolerated to build and share in the communities through the lands. However discrimination still occurs and orcs are shunned by some parts of the populations, as most races are wary of them and dwarves especially hate them. Simply said, most peasants just do not want the orcs near. They know they must tolerate them and be friendly but this isn’t always easy. Some peasants call it ‘love & peace politics’.

Decision making: decisions, orders, improvements, changes in the towns and cities go through the local mayor, the nobles, and the local town/ city council. Sometimes they take ages to finalize, to frustration of most of the officials & council members who do the administrative and arranging work Everyone votes anonymously except the mayor who must vote openly (which could bring him or her into dislike sometimes). The higher the noble rank, the more votes he has. If the topic or change is approved, it may go to a Global council in for example Silverdale where it has to be approved again. There it could be rejected and there doesn’t have to be any reason given. All these bureaucracies cause much frustration with the population, and also the army since they want things done and organized

1.5 History of the Lands

Having come from oversees kingdoms afar, settlers under the lead of Platex and Tragis explored the wild lands. Building of small settlements and cultivating harvest helped the population to grow.

After pioneering the wild lands about 1000 to 2000 years ago by settlers, different countries were formed over the areas. Pallisades were built against wild animals and farmers fields were created for harvest. Some people were dissatisfied and began roaming around the lands, searching for valuables. Cassius the brave helped against different brigands pillaging upon unsuspecting farmers.

Overseas trade was setup, support came from the oversees kingdoms until it was less needed, and the people wanted their independence

Once there was a war of Talinn against Uruk, two very old cities. The cities were abandoned and little is known about this

Halik became the first chronicler and librarian, recording many things that happened in the lands, which came from hundreds of years of oral traditions.

Gnome King Telemachus was the first righteous king of the gnomes, lord Brando the first dwarven ruler, Elias the Wise the first ruler of the elves. Cities such as Gnome City and the Forge had a good economy, were organized and were laying secluded in the mountains.

The wizard Magius established the first mage tower in the lands, the Tower of High Magic. Alfraed, high priest of Paladine, became the first high priest of the lands.

There was a time of peace in the lands and hard work was rewarded. The economies increased through the lands. The lands were getting more organized

Gold caused more greed. Dwarves of Mortheim formed alliances over the mountains and raided many towns.

A prophecy was issued by a priest about the coming of a dark age. People should be prepared as the gods of evil wanted more influence and power in the lands

City of Cormyr was divided in different fractions after death of High Priest Elias II. Priests of empire of Ishtar were not agreeing and got less power from gods.

A figure named Gale the Dark was not only a very powerful wizard, but also a great warrior. Together with an unholy sword and a legendary magical tome, Gale rallied many followers, conquering town after town, city after city. Also he got hold of a powerful red lifestone, which gave him strength

Magius, and Alfred they had a hard time defeating the evil forces of Mogrion and Zeboim, lead by the legendary mage Gale. They received help of an unknown army commander named Falcon, together with Sneaker the gnome, Icemand the wizard, Arrex the healer and a legendary skeleton named Skull. The allies disappeared as quickly as they came after defeating Gale

A blessed spring appeared suddenly out of nowhere in a dense forest, healing all who need it. Was it a gift from Paladine and Michakal? A rock named Michakal’s Prayer was founded by a group of Knights and Monks as a resting place. They constructed a stone temple. The well was evetually exhausted and the temple was lost after being overgrown

The land needed elite protectors against dark cults and lords so the order of the Knights of the Circle was established by Lord Gunthar

At one point in time, the Republic of the Lands was formed, where a council ruled. Much time and money was spent in research to improve technology and find valuable minerals. The Republic, existing mainly out of nobles started exploring still undiscovered parts of the lands and also started making slaves. People started to become unhappy. Famous revolution writer Mark Ashwin was executed for writing poems about a despotic government

The economy and research thrived. Shaemoon once became a popular city where powerful magic was researched wildly and was visited by many different races. Some people say that even people flew the streets on carpets. It attracted people from wide and afar. Their cathedrals were extremely large and their mage guilds towering. They had different powerful red lifestones they used that boosted their power almost infinitely. These shards of gems were rumoured to have been directly fallen from the sky when Reorx the god of the dwarves and Hithdukel the god of wealth played a game of dice and Reorx lost. During a fight the gemstone Reorx created fell through the universe and shattered into many pieces on earth. Unfortunately the city eventually became so powerful, their people became proud and haughty, thinking they were better and wealthier than anyone else. It offended the gods and hence, the city was made uninhabitable. Now only monkeys live there. According to another variation of the legend however, the city was thrown into the sea as rocks beneath it crumbled causing a large avalanche.

Many mages and priests battled for strive in the world, blaming each other for the fall of Shaemoon. Eventually many were killed and magic became very uncommon. The republic council established the different colours of mage and priest robes, to make sure the use of magic would be in check.

Dwarven King Alcabran becomes appointed leader of the dwarven strongholds. He stirred up the people against his rival for the throne, Duncan. Because too many people supported Duncan, he built another dwarven strongholds and took away almost 1/3rd of the population. He also gained support of many dark dwarves in the mines below. Eventually a war between Gnome City and the Dwarven stronghold of Alcabran which impacted the trade heavily through the realms

Once, different warlords ruled in these areas, who were monarchs and despotes, that were very interested in each other's land. They also ruled in the area which we now call the Moonshire. Their desires resulted in different wars fought, small and large

Among them, these were,
- Cert the Sweet, an extremely strong warrior who was friendly as long as he was not irritated
- Count Jaques the unwise, who made some decisions which could better be left to others
- Higgin Silverdawn, a halfling who lived a too luxurious lifestyle
- Leslie Meriwether, a wealthy aristocrat who was once a mayor
- Lord Kelatus, a vengeful paladin who has been rumoured to be a few hundred years old
- Lord Geoffry, who was once being righteous
- Lord Reginald, a man that ruled with an iron fist
- Lord Timothy, a wealthy but nervous nobleman
- Lord Wulfric, an impulsive man that climbed up from the savage barbarian tribes and formed his own settlement

They conquered lands to and from, but neither of them could gain the upper hand for a long time

Duke Zachobar tried to unite the kingdoms by diplomacy and though it succeeded for a few years, he met a bitter end

Later on, different fractions existing out of brigands and bandits revolted. Brigand leader Zack Johnson claimed he received a legendary spellbook from a hermit of the southern lands in a cave that allowed him to wield all kinds of elemental, life and death magic. The spellbook was rumoured to come from the legendary Library of Gilean, god of balance. Many people were drawn to his cause to unite the lands and became rebels, but arrogant as Zack was, they were not trained very well and this was their downfall. The High Knight Alan Mitchells made an end to his reign and imprisoned him

Xaran of Cormyr, a dreaded necromancer started pillaging the lands. He was disappointed with all the rules of the Towers of High Magic. He was eventually defeated by Valek d'Nunza, a high priest of Paladine. However, Valek did for some reason not slay him permanently and Xaran got away, eager to have revenge. He was once spotted terrorizing the borders between the Moonshire and Phalanx. Teaming up with Alan Mitchells, Valek pursued him, but to no avail

400 years ago (140 BC):
Once there used to be a war between provinces, the city of Calador under the lead of Marcus the Red thought about expanding since their military power was high and attacked Silverdale. At that time Silverdale was run by Lord Malcolm of Karsten. Marcus the red, being a powerful wizard, used rituals with groups of mages to launch terrifying magical attacks on the city, which caused severe damage to many buildings and people.

The capital of Silverdale was being attacked by San Raal the Lich together with the death knights Lord Soth & his assistant Callaghar.

The war went over to all the provinces who helped one of the two parties and from there it spread all over the lands. The war was getting out of hand.

Eventually the legendary archmage Greydale was called to make peace between Silverdale & Calador together with the help of the knights of the circle. The battle with the undead army of San Raal was fought at the Traveler’s Inn. Greydale did a ritual to call on the gods to stop all the invading evil, and with success. Eventually the evil lost and were banished from the lands for many centuries according to the Book of Time written by Astinus the Chronicler

In the west of the lands are the Shadowlands with no ruler. In the middle over the high mountains is a valley that contained many minerals and resources, drawing many explorers here for a short time, until the valley snowed under.

There were so many stories around. Astinus the elven chronicler combined different books of the lands of different authors, also deriving from popular rumours. He bundled them and distributed them to the libraries of different kingdoms. Astinus worked his whole life to gather information and wrote so stylefully, that it is rumoured even Gilean, god of balance got a copy of all the books in the Great Library in the heavens, or astral realms

100 years ago king Alexander eventually united these lands also called the Moonshire Kingdom. This unity had to be done, else the country would fall prey to neighbouring territories such as Vortax and Phalanx. Alexander's name became well-known over the continent, but so did his negative habits to keep slaves, high military production and large debts

Tension between the different lands grew through the years. Alexander was good friends with many of the rulers on the continent and Moonshire managed to stay out of troubles between countries

The government of Ansalon in Lyonne aimed to conquer the primitive lands of Leng, that has been attacking Ansalon and Phalanx from time to time, but the thick and warm climate prevented it. Even a joint invasion with Phalanx booked little terrain

Romantic courting of Jurius Isenfell of Phalanx City with Lady Esmee of Vortax. This lead to hatred between the two lands. Later on incidents between Phalanx and Vortax increased. Trade and economy was sabotaged and the south western part of the Vortax capital of Heracles got damaged

Admiral von Thorsten bombarded the south western part of Heracles and caused the death of over 7000 Vortaxians. Phalanx says that the bombardment on Heracles only hit a few walls, 3 or so and not much. Later it would even become a tourist attraction under the international seafaring alliance.

Andieux builds a Tower of High Sorcery. The knowledgable elven sages and philosophers attract many spellcasters

One of the main councillors of Phalanx City of the Royal Family of Oakway was held hostage. 1,000,000 gp was required but he was freed.

A campaign done by Sir Rouen ‘the Paladin’ caused the death of 10,000 citizens in Phalanx. He venged a lot of honor. Vortax withdrew from this incident and said he operated on his own. He would get the death penalty in Heracles

The capital of Lyonne in Ansalon forced a peace treaty and would sent military to both lands of Phalanx City and Vortax to keep them quiet. King Alexander agreed with this and sent troops, but they stayed at the Moonshire border

The eastern islands were colonized by different countries such as Ardonne, Andieux, Phalanx, Vortax, and Moonshire. Because explorations happened at about the same time, there were arguments, fights and diplomatic negotiations about who was entitled to colonize which island. Eventually they agreed that each of them was entitled to a few islands and matters got settled.

This also increased the piracy between the islands and the mainland. For a short time the different lands internationally met together to do something about the very strong pirates, like the dreaded pirate Lavec. Philipo Agato, a risen general and the Malefactum family from Vortax did their best to send ships against the pirates, though the Vortax government has often been accused many types of illegal trades and activities through the years.

From Phalanx, president Rior Cedric Hensen donnated much money and asked the Woolgather Blithesome family to deliver soldiers to keep the waters safe.

Setup of the International Sea Faring Alliance When this alliance was created, many islands donnated gold to the capital for the well being and keeping the seas safe. Vortax also donnated 250,000 gp to the well being and keeping the seas safe to this imperial navy.

Now king Archibald has taken over the rulership of Alexander who is much more tolerant. Unfortunately also became much more beaurocratic. However, the lands are reasonably at peace

Some upheaval is heared though at the edges of our kingdom. Border guards have been growing increasingly dissatisfied with all the procedures and lack of maintenance. Would they revolt? Also the Knights of the Circle are too often away to fix all kinds of problems through the land and are too short in numbers to prevent against outside attacks now. Even the towers of high magicc are too occupied

1.6 Creation of the Universe Story

The All/ Ao - What was there in the very beginning, we don’t know.

Light and Darkness - Now, the world was formed from light and darkness; that is what has been told through the ages

The gods - from there was a cosmic dance of the stars and the gods were born in that dance. Paladin, Michakal, Gilean and many other gods emerged from the sparkling vortex. Opposed to that the gods of evil like Mogrion came into existance

Pre-worldly myths and sages - before time was there, there were already wars from which we only heard in legends.

The universes, dimensions and races - The universe, the races and the worlds, multiple dimensions, were created.

Continents were explored and populated, settlements and lands were formed

The first community - through the centuries the gods have given instructions to the leaders and elders how they should build the communities.

The communities evolve- from the first communities, towns, villages, cities, lands, temples, fields and harvests were created as well as mage towers with the knowledge from the ethereal realms. The gods have done much for mankind

Rivalry & wars - and then the mortals became self-thinking, felt their independence, and knew it better. The gods are no better than us, they said. So yes, now and then the gods give signs of authority to show us their presence.

The opinions about these stories differ per sages. Some say we have always been present in the higher regions and others say we have been created on this planet. Others have the opinion that Gods are no gods but only energies. One says that the gods do interfere life directly, others don’t. One say we have a destiny, the other now.

Let us all come to experience it,

Astinus, Chronicler of the Great Library