Building a New D&D Setting

[Lord Raine]

I've done deeper alterations to my setting, so I suppose I should go ahead and put those down as well. Especially seeing how these are considerably more important than the minor things like Mora-don, which is really just fluff that you could stick into any setting you wanted.

Do keep in mind that I have not played in this setting yet. Where I am, I can't find any groups that don't want to play Vampire: The Masquerade nonstop, and as much as I desperately want to RP, doing it as a modern Hollywood/Twilight/True Blood kind of vampire is just not an option. Not unless I'm willing to go on a murder spree. So I'm totally in a Looking For Group situation, here.

This setting is not confined to a single planet, but spreads throughout the universe. The vast majority of planets have flora and fauna on them, and nearly all are habitable. For those of you into science fiction, this is a universe where the ratio of 'garden worlds' to 'desolate inhospitable rocks' is switched. However, this is not the largest change. The largest change is that space is not a void. It is a breathable atmosphere of oxygen and nitrogen. This means that space travel is not only possible, but greatly simplifed, because you don't have to worry about bringing an atmosphere with you, or pressure-sealing the vehicle. Space travel is effectively reduced to "flying really high," and it's entirely possible for particularly large airships to just flat-out leave the planet and travel to neighboring ones. You could also get a wizard to enchant a canoe for you and travel the universe that way.

On an interdimensional level, this deviates significantly from the standard Dungeons & Dragons cosmology. Rather than having the mortal world be the elementally 'balanced' world, in contrast to the elemental planes, the primary plane is an elemental plane. Specifically, it is the Elemental Plan of Air. There is no 'plane of balance,' or rather, if there is, then it would be a wholly alien landscape where there are no 'planets' or 'stars' floating in a void of air, but rather, it would be an endless expanse of intermixed and intertwined elements. Likely an incredibly dangerous and hazardous place to travel, though it would be convenient as a sort of dimensional crossroads of sorts, where all other planes connect to in one way or another.

The 'core' of the setting is based around two worlds that are twins of each other. They orbit around each other as binary planets, are roughly the same size and mass, and possess a barycenter. One of the planets is the setting I have been describing thus far, which is a medival high fantasy sword-and-sorcery type setting that is what one typically expects from Dungeons & Dragons. It houses the meritocracy kingdom where individuals of note become nobility. The second planet, however, is a magic-less steampunk setting that is functionally Victorian Era. It lacks magic and magical things, though that is not to say it is devoid of the supernatural. These two planets developed the ability to leave their respective world at roughly the same time, and naturally, their first destination was the giant green and blue planet right next door.

This inevitable meeting between the two civilizations was peaceful, and they established trade agreements in which they mutually export what they have that the other wants: magic and steampunk technology, respectively, which has caused a veritable renaissance of innovation and ideas in both civilizations. They have also established various cross-planetary guilds and factions that are interested in exploring the universe further and discovering what there is to be found.

This all leads up to the current setting as it stands now, which is a multicultural arcanapunk setting where the 'adventurers' make their living exploring, either as members of a guild or as freelancers, and bringing to light what they discover. This can obviously take place on a local level, such as the home planet, a planetary level, taking place on the binary planet system, or an intergalactic level, where they travel from world to world, going to places no one has ever seen before and catalouging what they find there. The players could choose a level they wished to play at from the beginning ("I totally want to explore space as a wizard. Let's do that."), decide to start from the local level and work their way up to the intergalactic and planar levels, or do something inbetween.

 

[Aarik]

Wait, weren't the dwarves supposed to have something involving going to the the Elemental Plane of Air in their Backstory?

Or are their more then one Elemental Planes of Air?

 

[Lord Raine]

The dwarves have colonized other planes. Originally, I didn't have the "we are the plane of Air" thing, so I noted the Elemental Plane of Air as being one of the places they colonized. Nothing has really changed, but the example I provided is no longer valid. A better example might be the Elemental Plane of Earth. Plenty of materials, metals, and stone, so the dwarven economy would thrive, and there would be more than enough extra to build citadels out of.

 

[Lord Raine]

SO YEAH.

Some of the things I'm working on are the background to this universe. After acquiring the core book for Pathfinder, I've decided to use that as the starting point for this custom setting of mine, specifically where the classes are concerned. However, the setting itself still needs fleshing out.

One of the things I'm doing is building up the idea that, in the past, there were powerful interstellar civilizations that vied for control, but they fought too hard, and wound up destroying themselves.

One of those civilizations is trolls. They, and their offshoot cousins ogres, were a species that controlled a powerful cosmic empire. However, their ultimate fate was cruel; they were subjected to a plague superweapon that destroyed their higher intelligences. However, they are slowly evolving a way around the disease, as evidenced by the occasional occurance of highly intelligent trolls and ogre mages.

Another of these civilizations is Dopplegangers. They were another powerful interplanetary force, but had all of their technologies and records destroyed by the trolls. They are now a scattered race, stranded on individual planets in clusters and searching desperately for their own lost technologies so that they can reclaim their former power.

Yet another of these civilizations are the intelligent dragons. They were once a mighty force in the universe, as the adults did not need the help of technology or machines to travel from planet to planet; their own wings and innate magic were, and still are, sufficient. However, the metallic and chromatic dragons fought each other so fiercely that they neared mutual extinction. Even now, with their numbers the barest fraction of what they once were, they will bitterly fight to the death when they meet. Unlike the Trolls and Dopplegangers, the dragons have not been deprived of anything or handicapped in any way. The only thing preventing them from ruling the stars are their own numbers, and their divinely-inspired desire to destroy their rivals.

While exploring the various neighboring planets, the PCs can find, discover, or be involved in the unearthing and recovery of various artifacts of the ages past. These ruins are trollish, doppler, and draconic in nature. This can be used both as a reward for PCs and as potent quest hooks for later gaming, as various trollish, doppler, and draconic factions might covet what they discovered, recovered, and/or learned. Dopplegangers are the most likely to desire knowledge and technology, both their own and that which once belonged to spacefaring trolls and dragons, and will go to any lengths to attain it, including bribery, assassination, threats, and outright theft. Groups of evolved trolls are more likely to resort to basic violence to attain it, simply attacking and attempting to claim it, either personally or using mercenaries and other hired adventurers.

Metallic dragons, being inherently good-aligned, will likely offer to trade with their own treasures and knowledge, or even propose partnerships. Chromatic dragons, on the other hand, are far more evil, and depending upon the individual dragon's personality, will likely attempt to either acquire it through subersion like theft and murder, or simply attack the PCs and take it by force.

In essence, the 'precursors' of this setting are still around, merely in a de-elevated state, and will directly involve themselves in some way when (not if) PCs of a sufficient renown begin discovering the relics of their civilizations. This allows for complex plots and intrigue to effectively create itsel, because one of the primary motivations of the Dungeons & Dragons style of gaming is to acquire treasure through adventuring, and in this particular scenario, acquiring treasure leads to new adventures and events in which even more treasure can be acquired. In essence, each new quest directly builds on the last, and indeed was likely caused by the last.

Combined with the size of the setting in question, the result is a setting in which the story creates itself with minimal effort, the characters are by definition being encouraged to further adventures and personal strength, and the PCs only have to stop when the players themselves get tired. Even then, the adventure can be freshened up by seeking new angles. Planetary exploration can be punctuated by exploring and adventuring the local and continental settings of the two core homeplanets, which in turn can be punctuated with exploring other planes, fighting wars and battles in space, or helping colonists establish themselves settlements and cities on new worlds.

 

[Alzrius]

You know, Raine...I stare and I stare at your sig file, but no matter how long I look at it, I just keep thinking one thing...

"Is she playing Solomon's Key?"

 

[Lord Raine]

Alas! No love for spacetrolls.


And yes, she's playing Solomon's Key.

 

[Lord Raine]

There are four major powers in the fantasy world, two good and two bad. The two good are the humans and the dwarves. The two bad are the orks and the goblins.

The elves do not usually involve themselves in wars, nor are they large players in the stage of the world. However, this is not because they are snobbish dicks or Chaotic/Neutral Asshole aligned. The elves in this setting are immortals; they are not subject to age and death like the other races. They reach Middle Age (according to core rule sliding scale), and then stop aging entirely, essentially never accruing aging penalties and never dying due to elapsed time. However, the elves also have a phenomenally low birthrate. On average, one hundred new elves are born every century out of the entire elven population, and the elves would consider themselves extremely blessed by their gods if more than two hundred were born in such a span. The elves in this setting are good, noble, wise, and just. They love the earth and land, but not to the point of obnoxiousness, and they are almost universally altruistic and good. They respect the dwarves, though they do not always see eye-to-eye, and are steadfast allies of the humans. They have a strong cultural tradition of martial training, and their legends are filled with tales of noble deeds and great wars. They are generally humble and often helpful, and enjoy the company of other living beings, particularly sentient beings, and have a strong ethic and moral stance against the brutality and evil perpetuated by orks, goblins, vampires, chromatic dragons, and fiends. However, they simply cannot afford to be at the forefront of any conflict. They do not breed fast enough to be capable of sustained warfare.

Elves 'do' live as long as they are not killed, which means that, strictly speaking, elves of any significant age are probably 'better' than any human, dwarf, ork, or goblin at whatever it is they do, along with several things they would merely consider hobbies. An elven Blademaster could, for instance, likely defeat three other such human masters at once. However, even this advantage of age and experience would not save the elves if they were ever forced as a race into the open to fend for themselves, due to the sheer numbers other species possess. Just the orks alone, which have comparable birth and deathrates to humans, outnumber the elves five hundred to one, and the goblins with their high birthrates over a thousand to one. Any 'elven' war waged would be their last, because while time cannot kill them, steel certainly can. No matter how valiantly they fought, they would be wiped out.

Due to this, the elves are close allies with humans in this setting. Elves have their own cities and kingdoms, but they often overlap with human cities and kingdoms, which is very deliberate on the part of the elves. In large human settlements, elves are a relatively common sight, and there are frequently one or more elven districts or areas in large human cities. The majority of elves are completely integrated into human society, and often serve the communities as politicians, scholars, wizards, teachers, and traders, with those that enter practical trades such as smithwork, carpentry, and masonry being especially valued, as their long lives allow them to develop immense skill and experience in their crafts. Elves are known to be superb merchants, possessing considerable business acumen and cordial relations with most intelligent species, and are also know for their shipwrighting prowess. Due to this, their preferred environment are urban coastal cities, either near or adjacent to humans and preferably surrounded by forests or hills, where they can freely ply their trades, ferry goods, and peacefully live out their lives.

Due to the high levels of integration between them where they share space, it is not considered uncommon for humans and elves to intermarry, and more than a few elven princes and princesses have coupled with human kings and queens to seal alliances and reassert old ties. Most human settlements of sufficient size have standing populations of half-elves, and while half-elves are generally associated more with their elven heritage than their human, they are valued by both elves and the human societies they hail from as upstanding citizens and living symbols of elven-human cosociety.


The following is an example of an elf character within the context of this setting. I designed it to function as either a prominent NPC ally for the PCs, or if a player is willing to roleplay a premade build, one of the PCs.

Ed'lassil (Tessahigh) Ironheart

An elven warrior (LG Male Ftr 10), Ed'lassil Tessahigh felt the call to combat at the relatively young age of fifty. Willingly choosing a path that few other elves dare, he took up the sword and fought on the front lines against the various monstrous and goblinoid incursions that threatened the land. During this time, he became fast friends with a human warrior, Corvesh Ironheat (LG Male Ftr 10). They had many adventures together, and became extremely close, each viewing the other as the brother they never had.

Eventually, Corvesh told Ed'lassil that his motivation to become a warrior was to further the Ironheart name, which had once been great, but due to many tradgic and unfortunate circumstances, had fallen into obscurity. Corvesh felt an intense sense of duty to assert his family name in the pages of history, and this desire moved Ed'lassil, who upon self-reflection, realized that he himself had little true motivation for doing what he did beyond his own simple desire to do it, and his joy of battle.

However, these joyous days would not last. One day, the pair responded to a cry for aid from an elven settlement that was far distanced from any larger human or elven city. Upon arriving, they found the settlement overrun with orks, who were rounding up the elven and human children in cages, and slaughtering the adults. The pair of warriors struck back in a rage, routing the orks alongside the few remaining adults who could fight and hold weapons. However, in the melee, Corvesh was struck a mortal blow, and with the village priest and local wizard already slain, there were none who could save him.

With his last few moments on this coil, Corvesh confessed his greatest secret to Ed'lassil; the greatness of the Ironheart name had rested upon the greatness of the Ironheart Blade, a longsword passed down since time immemorial in the Ironheart line. It was a powerful blade that brimmed with supernatural strength, supposedly constructed by a mighty wizard of the Ironheart lineage in the distant past, and it's strength allowed his family to carve a mighty legacy in the blood-soaked annuals of history. However, several generations ago, it's power had failed, and though the Ironhearts had searched for decades, they could not find a reason for why.

With his last breath, Corvesh bequeathed his longsword to Ed'lassil, saying that this was indeed the blade, and that as his brother, Ed'lassil was now it's rightful owner. In response to this, Corvesh cast aside his family name of Tessahigh, becoming Ed'lassil Ironheart, and swore over his brother's grave an elven Oath of Emnity against all ork and goblinkind, and promised to do all in his power to resurrect the Ironheart clan and it's name from the dust of history.

The sword Ed'lassil took from his dying brother seems to be shockingly normal, at least compared to the extravagant claims made by Corvesh on his deathbed, but Ed'lassil was apprenticed to a powerful elven wizard in his youth before deciding that the blade was his true calling, and he knows that for powerful magical objects, looks can be deceiving. Ed'lassil would trust his brother's word with his life, and believes without a doubt that the +2 Holy Longsword hides some powerful arcane secret within it.

A mighty elven fighter renowned amongst his people for his skills and his willingness to walk into dangerous situations with confidence and nerve, Ed'lassil does not hesitate to put himself in harm's way, and while he has not yet passed the formal Test of Three Sun Steel to be considered a Blademaster (which involves standing alone against a Blademaster in a fight lasting through three sunrises without being marked more than three times), he is spoken of amongst the elves as someone possessing comparable skill, and one who will almost certainly become a Blademaster in the coming years.

Ed'lassil's interests include combat techniques, military history, magical trivia, and a form of minimalist elven poetry called Shalm. His primary character motivations are to decimate the enemies of the elven and human peoples, the orks in particular, to such an extent that his brother's dying wish is fulfilled: the Ironheart name immortalized in the pages of history, rather than being forgotten. He also seeks out leads towards anything that might unlock the power he is sure is hidden within the Ironheart ancestral sword.

As a character, EdÆlassilÆs motivations are threefold; to destroy ork and goblin influence wherever he finds it, to spread the renown of the Ironheart name, and to unlock the secrets of the Ironheart blade. He prefers a combat style that involves skillful bladework to serve as both offense and defense, and shuns shields as unnecessary in the hands of a truly skilled swordmaster. He has a strong preference for weapon focus feats, feats that give constant passive bonuses to his damage dealing and defense, and any feats that allow him to fight more efficiently with a sword in one hand and nothing in the off-hand. In combat, EdÆlassil will engage what he perceives as the strongest and most dangerous enemy first, and continue fighting until he achieves victory or is forced to pull back.

 

[Chaos341]

What have elves done besides chill out with humans and be immortal?

 

[Lord Raine]

What have elves done besides chill out with humans and be immortal?

They constructed the largest empire around ten thousand years ago. However, their near-global dominance was permanently broken when the orks came. The orks are inventions of a single elven wizard, who was possessed both by unsurpassed power and incredible madness. They were made from elven flesh, and were ment to be slaves. The orks didn't like being slaves. The two species went to war. Neither side won. The elves drove the orks to near extinction, but so too did the orks. Never again would the orks be wholly united under a single banner, but by the same token, never again would the rule of elven kings blanket the planet. There are a thousand lost halls that ring silent and empty, and ten thousand lost thrones, stained with the royal blood of ancient elves.

It would take many thousands of years for the elves to once again possess the numbers and might that they did in their golden age. But it would only take a single charismatic ork of unusual strength and intelligence to unite the tribes once again. And for that, because of that, the elves remain vigiliant. But even as they remain vigiliant, others question. The dwarves look on with disdain, seeing it as proof of elven arrogance, and know that at least their wars with goblins and the numerous monsters of the dark mountains and darker caverns are not wars that they themselves started. The dwarves know the truth of the past, of the slavery and arrogance and conquest, and have a distaste for elves because of it. Because dwarves hold grudges, and it was not as though the orks were the first slaves the elves had. . .

 

[Lord Raine]

AND NOT ONE SHIT WAS GIVEN

Moving on~

Ran Gor

The Sacred Flame, Bloodfire, Fiendbane, Shadowslayer, The Forsaken One

Alignment: Neutral Good

Rank: Demigod

Domains: War, Death, Fire, Good

Once a mighty mortal warrior of unknown origin, Ran Gor fought with a singular purpose: the destruction of what he called 'the Greater Evils.' A relentless hunter of supernatural evil, Ran Gor tracked down and slew countless fiends, abominations, cultists, and dark fey, becoming infamous throughout the lands for his exploits. Eventually, he became such a threat that powerful forces of evil conspired to end him once and for all, and enmeshed Ran Gor in a plot that would banish him to the depths of the Lower Planes.

However, this scheme proved to be their undoing. Exposed to the most terrible forces of evil and darkness, Ran Gor underwent a divine transformation, ascending to demigodhood even as he continued to spill fiendish blood. To this very day, Ran Gor roams across the Lower Planes, destroying demons and devils alike with the incredible strength and prowess that only a demigod could muster, continuing his quest heedless of the curse that the evil gods placed upon him.

His appearance is that of an enormous human that stands twelve feet tall, broad in the shoulder and with thick arms and legs. His eyes are golden, and his head is bald. His armor is mismatched and damaged, cobbled together from the spoils of battle, ever-changing as pieces wear out, fall away, and are replaced. The parts of his skin that are bare blaze with fire, the demon blood that coats it burning on contact with his sacred flesh.

His weapon is a massive blade, more a sharpend slab of metal than a sword. It was crudly hewn with his own bare hands from the very ground of the killing fields of Hell, where the armors and weapons of angels and demons from a thousandfold battles is trampled down and soaked through with the blood of celestials and fiends alike. Even those with divine wisdom of the forge would struggle to put a name to it's nature, but it burns with power in his hands, the runes his fingers carved into it shining as he sharpens the edge against the armor and flesh of his enemies.

Ran Gor cares little for law or chaos, seeing both as irrelevant in the grand war of good and evil. If evils of the universe wish to divide themselves, more the fool them. He will kill them all the same. Ran Gor requires that his followers be Good, but does not care what their other alignment component is. He plays no favorites to race or species, society or creed; so long as your heart is good and mind is set to the destruction of Evil, Ran Gor will call you his kin.

Worshippers of Ran Gor are most frequently Fighters, Monks, Paladins, Barbarians, and Sorcerers. Fighters admire his strength in combat, and Monks find much to emulate in his skill and ability to stand alone against many through pure prowess. Paladins are attracted by the simple and pure call of the destruction of evil through extreme martial ability and divine power, and many Barbarians of Good inclination admire and emulate his holy rage against the evils of the universe, and seek to emulate him. Surprisingly, more than a few Sorcerers of fiendish descent take to his worship as well, seeing in him an example that they can follow, and admiring his devotion to the destruction of evil regardless of circumstance.

The church of Ran Gor is less a church than a brotherhood. Worshippers refer to each other as family, and call any place where they gather in numbers their hall of worship. Their dedication to the destruction of supernatural evil is their all-consuming drive, and they relentlessly hunt it down wherever they find it, shunning the trappings of traditional worship as an unnessary distraction from their purpose.

Clerics of Ran Gor choose from the domains of War, Death, Fire, and Good. His favored weapon is the Bastard Sword.

 

[Chaos341]

Ran Gor sounds pretty fucking metal even if he is rather weak in terms of gods. I am right in assuming a god is a hell of a lot stronger than a demigod right?

 

[Lord Raine]

In traditional D&D, it's the difference between being a God god, and being what amounts to a superhero. It's like, one is on Olympus ruling, while the other is 'just' running around <a href='http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Labours_of_Hercules' target='_blank' rel='nofollow'>slaying unkillable monsters, tricking Eldritch Abominations, dragging the Guardian of the Underworld away from it's post to parade around, and having sex with a thousand women in a single night and not having to call any of them the next morning</a>.

Or, to use yet another analogy, Gods are the Kings and Queens: Demigods are the Princes and Princesses.


Though, that being said, it should be noted that a god's power elevates as they gain more worshippers, and Ran Gor has enough that he is almost to the point of transforming into a Lesser Diety. Naturally, the forces of evil are really pissed off about this, and are actively hunting down worshippers of Ran Gor to try and prevent his ascension from Demigodhood to true Godhood.

Plus, it's bad enough that there's a demigod running around the Lower Plans beating up their minions. If he became a god, then he could potentially threaten them. Plus, he could leave, and carve out his own place in heaven where his dead followers could organize.

That's something they would really, really like to avoid.

 

[Vexarian]

He sounds pretty badass. And yeah the history lesson before it was nice, not much to say about it though. I don't know much about DnD and since you presumably aren't changing the underlying mechanics I wouldn't really be able to critique that either. What you have been describing so far has been good and without any major flaw to point out so anything I could say would be just a load of opinionated horse shit.

So unless you want me to just brainlessly post encouraging things I don't know what you want and I suspect this applies to most everyone else.

 

[Alzrius]

So unless you want me to just brainlessly post encouraging things I don't know what you want and I suspect this applies to most everyone else.

+1.

The history is nice and all, but there's really nothing to comment on.

 

[Lord Raine]

So unless you want me to just brainlessly post encouraging things I don't know what you want and I suspect this applies to most everyone else.

+1.

The history is nice and all, but there's really nothing to comment on.

So what would you comment on?

 

[Vexarian]

So unless you want me to just brainlessly post encouraging things I don't know what you want and I suspect this applies to most everyone else.

+1.

The history is nice and all, but there's really nothing to comment on.

So what would you comment on?

I hope you understand that this is not an easy question to answer. I'll try anyway though, hopefully I don't spend all night just wording out here.

The ideas you present are always very well explained and at least appear to be equally well thought out. However in your explanations you generally keep your thoughts as simple as possible and rarely delve into too much detail. This isn't a bad thing mind you, but it makes it very difficult to comment on the work. You have long since passed the point where you will let any surface errors creep into your work. The issue is that you also don't expand on things enough to reveal any deeper flaws. Although again sometimes these details don't even exist, some ideas are meant to be vague in certain places and specific in others.

But the thing is, anything that invites meaningful commentary, at least at your level is by necessity going to have to be more complex then what you've been showing us. And no offense, but your ideas tend to be rather shallow. That's not to say it's a bad thing, but shallow ideas don't invite criticism. If you want commentary or suggestions you'll have to come up with something that has more actual meat to it, something with some degree of complexity, or deeper meaning or even something that's less crystallized and more ambiguous.

Hopefully I haven't just confused myself and unintentionally fed you a massive amount of bullshit.

 

[Lord Raine]

By more complex, do you mean more in-depth? Because I can do that.

 

[Vexarian]

By more complex, do you mean more in-depth? Because I can do that.

Sort-of. I'm finding it a little difficult to get my thoughts together at the moment. More depth couldn't hurt though, I'm not positive it'll be the game changer you're looking for but it certainly couldn't hurt.

 

[Alzrius]

So unless you want me to just brainlessly post encouraging things I don't know what you want and I suspect this applies to most everyone else.

+1.

The history is nice and all, but there's really nothing to comment on.

So what would you comment on?

Mechanics.

 

[Aegis]

Raine, you realize you're going to be making a FUCKTON of maps at this rate right? And that's just overall geo-mapping. Not a word on specific locations

 

[Lord Raine]

<a href='http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fPlXSbGolcw&feature=related' target='_blank' rel='nofollow'>Alzurius</a>

The Sacred Fiend, The Holy Avenger, The Lord of Outcasts, Left Hand of Justice

Alignment: Lawful Good

Rank: Lesser Deity

Domains: Good, Law, Magic,


Hell culls it's own. It is an uncommonly known but accepted fact that, on rarest of occasions, a Fiend is born with something other than Evil burning in it's heart. However, these outliers do not last. The rigid caste system implemented by the rank and file of Fiends has zero tolerance for anything less than the purest demonic ideal. Those few that are born without evil branded into their hearts and minds are swiftly identified and destroyed as abominations and dangerous defects.

Once upon a time, there was such a Fiend. His peers and superiors sought to destroy him, but just as he was blessed with an unwavering heart of justice, so too was he blessed with the pinnacle of infernal might. Surviving the attempts on his life, he fled the Lower Planes, and sought refuge in the shadowy dimensions between worlds. There, he struck out against the Lower Planes, growing in strength even as his own legend grew. The Hells grew to hate him with an unrivaled intensity, and sought his destruction with ever escalating anger and desperation.

However, they were unable to touch him, because unknown to them, he had used powerful shapeshifting magics of his own devising to re-enter the Lower Planes, and climbed the ranks under a different identity and form, becoming a powerful and feared general of the infernal armies. Standing in such a respected and privileged position allowed him access to dangerous secrets and powerful information, including the details of the ongoing hunt for his own head. Whenever the forces of the Lower Planes would close in upon him, he seemed to simply vanish, like smoke in the wind, or a reflection upon the water.

However, the charade was not to last. The Archfiends and Infernal Princes hatched a plan to circumvent the protections of the holy gods, and launch a direct assault upon the very heart of the Upper Planes. They held no delusions about the destruction of good, but schemed to weaken and cripple the sacred armies of the holy gods, impeding their movements and undermining their power. Millions of holy warriors would die in the assault, and the very bastion of peaceful afterlife would be put to the torch, bringing a final death to the immortal shades of countless saints and heroes who resided there in peace with their families and friends.

Placing the lives of angels that hated him and humans that feared him above his own, the renegade betrayed the Hells at the most crucial of moments, casting aside his disguise and diverting the attack long enough for the armies of the Heavens to muster. Revealing the power he had honed and so long kept hidden, the betrayer fought with the strength and ferocity of one of the very Princes of the Lower Planes, calling down epic sorceries and magics that defied description. He stood alone against the very vanguard of Hell, and held the line with nothing more than the strength of his body and the arcana of his blood. The skies were scorched black and red, and a crimson tide of diabolical blood covered the holy land of Heaven. Set in pitched battle against the most powerful Archfiends in existence, outnumbered and outgunned, the traitor roared out a ceaseless song of justice and triumph to the skies. The very air rang from his sorcerous exhalations, and not one single Fiend passed him.

Soon, the armies of Heaven marched upon the invading forces, but it was not soon enough. The traitor had suffered horrific injuries and countless mortal blows, and lay dying upon the field of battle, his strength and magic spent. For the act of saving the Upper Planes, the price he must pay was death, and having fled the depths only days after his birth, for living without ever having completed the demonic rites of passage, he would die without ever bearing a name.

With one final gasp, he raised a broken arm, and rent the very fabric of the planes, casting the Archfiends and their Prince who had ridden forth that day back into the depths from whence they came. Robbed of leadership and direction, the forces of Hell were swiftly routed. It was a glorious day, but also one of sorrow, for Heaven knew a debt had gone unpaid, and that a hero as noble and true as any had traded his life for victory.

A grand procession was assembled, with the gods themselves in attendance, and the nameless hero-fiend's corpse was borne from the sacred mountain of Heaven's heart down to the very shores of the crystal seas. His body was placed upon a boat crafted by the shades of the finest shipwrights from across worlds and ages, and after touching the craft alight in a warrior's pyre, he was set forth upon the currents.

It was at that moment, when fire and water met and the ship sank beneath the waves, that a light shone from the very summit of the holy mountain. It lanced forth and struck down into the water after the ship, and a star ignited beneath the sea. It rose, breaking the surface, and with a roar of exaltation, spread it's wings.

It was the hero-fiend reborn, his very being transformed by the holy waters and anointed by the radiance of Heaven's highest light. Flesh and scales that had been black and red now glittered flawless white and gold, and dark horns that had once been blackened with dirt and blood now shone the purest silver. White feathers crusted his batlike wings, and eyes that had smoldered with hellfire now burned the purest, brightest blue. A glittering halo of light and prismatic mist hung upon his head like a crown, and upon his brow burned a single sigil in the script of angels. It was a name.

It was Alzurius.


Alzurius is the patron deity of sorcerers, those who are unfairly outcast, and those who seek to preserve and assert justice in the world. A powerful force for good in spite of his lesser divine status, Alzurius holds court with the council of archangels, and actively champions crusades against the gates of the Lower Planes, personally leading armies of mortal champions and immortal heroes of bygone eras into the very teeth of Hell.

He counts among his followers many Paladins, who see him as an example of their own creed writ upon a cosmic scale; proof that even Fiends are not immune to the call of Justice and Higher Good. He is worshiped by Sorcerers of all stripes, but most particularly those unfortunate souls of fiendish descent, who view in him a true ideal to follow, and a proof that no matter what lurks in their blood, it is their heart that matters more.

His holy symbol is the angelic rune Alzurius, and his favored weapon is the spear.

 

[Alzrius]

That punk-ass is making a mockery of my name; time to deliver this upstart a beatdown.

 

[Lord Raine]

Did you know your name is in the list of names for Generic Outsiders in Dungeons & Dragons?

. . . that's not where you got your screen name, is it?

[EDIT]

Ignoring the name, what do you think? My other idea for him had him being the offspring of rouge fiend and an angel, making him half-celestial half-fiend. I changed it to this, though, once I realized that, in all honesty, his 'dad' has a way cooler backstory than he does, and his actions seem much more like the sort of thing that would eventually result in divine ascension.

 

[GhostElder]

Ah so this is where you went Raine. On topic, I for one rather liked it, the music felt very appropriate and felt like it added just the right something to spark a tear to ones eye whilst reading.

I'd probably need to regain my knowledge of DnD to really get critical on the details at all, but from my standpoint at the moment it looks good.

 

[Alzrius]

Did you know your name is in the list of names for Generic Outsiders in Dungeons & Dragons?

. . . that's not where you got your screen name, is it?

Strictly speaking, there is no "list of Generic Outsiders in D&D." "Alzrius" is the demon lord of Conflagratum, the 601st layer of the Abyss. He takes the form of a living pillar of flame, and gives a piece of his body to his greatest minions in the form of a torch.

And yes, that's where I got my screenname from. Very few people know that, since Alzrius has only gotten scant mention in a handful of D&D products.