It has been several generations since the Cleansing. Nearly all the evil has been driven from the forest and the plains are kept safe by those who watch from up on high at the Temple on the mountain. Eostra and the council of the Sword are ever vigilant in keeping darkness at bay; the darkness that once threatened to consume the forest and spread its evil into the plains and Koriash the great city that was the home of Tikwetlem the saviour.
You were lucky to be born in the times since the Cleansing. Lucky to have the watchful Temple and the Wardens keeping you safe, lucky to have the power of Eostra and her Sword protecting you.
For many years, since your father’s father’s father’s time the valley has known a security maintained by the vigilance of the Council and by strict but necessary laws. The Ridge is to be always watched, for you have been warned that the Darkness could return at any time. Even though the treacherous Darkland Clans like the Sea Otter and Sea Eagle have been destroyed, the threat of Bear war parties lingers. Only the Sword keeps you and the great city of Koriash safe. Only the wisdom of the laws set down by the God-King Tekwetlem and the High Priest Eostra keep the Darkness at bay. Hail to the Sword, allegiance to the Council of the Sword!
But now you and a few others, chosen by your chiefs for your skill and resourcefulness, have been ordered to march west over the Ridge Wall and once again penetrate the darkness of the forest. The priests tell of a stirring there that threatens to once again throw the world into chaos! You have been tasked by the Council itself to head into the lands abandoned by your ancestors and quell whatever evil begins to rise.
May the Sword watch over you, may Eostra’s wisdom guide you and keep you safe. The Darklands are dark and deep and stories of the lost Wolf Clan, or bands of savage marauding Bear Clan come flooding to memory and suddenly seem real and dangerous as you begin to penetrate the forgotten Darklands…
Welcome back! Or just plain welcome if you’re joining in on the Chronicles of Ancient Darkness for the first time. Much has changed in the world since you last were here… much has shifted. In this sequel to the events that transpired in the earlier CoAD game you play someone from the tribes and clans east of the ridge wall, either from Koriash itself (Tekwetlem’s home town) or the surrounding plains, farms and light forest. You may come from a clan that fled here during the Cleansing, you may be a tribesman and not a clansman, but whatever your background you have been called by the Council of the Sword to journey forth to the West and discover the source of these stirrings of Darkness the Temple has spoken of.
When creating a character, pick one of the Natures provided but please feel free to create your own strength’s and weaknesses. You can be from the city (very early bronze age), from the surrounding lands or even a Warden or an Initiate.
Notes:
Darklands is based on the Chronicles of Ancient Darkness universe created by Michelle Paver. I ran an earlier tabletop game of Chronicles using the GURPS system and this Storium game is the sequel to that game. In the previous game, characters played people from various clans from the open and deep forest. During the course of their adventures they discovered that a great darkness was at work in the land and pulling the clans apart through guile, treachery, sinister magery and outright conflict. The pcs managed to track down some of the key people responsible for the evils being perpetrated in the forest but several ominous loose ends remained twisting in the undergrowth as the characters split up and took on different life paths. Those loose ends coalesced into events which subsequently divided the forest into outright war, the end result being the destruction or subjugation of most the forest clans and the coming into power of the plains tribes led by Tekwetlem the Saviour and a band of mages, led by the Eagle Owl mage Eostra, called The Healers or The Soul Eaters, depending on who you asked.
The tribesman from the city Koriash, east of the forest and beyond the Ridge Wall, pretty much run the show. The Council of the Sword levies taxes on all other tribes and clans and, if necessary, maintains order with an strong and organized military force called The Wardens. The Wardens are also charged with keeping a vigil against occasional raids from the western forest from the Bear Clan. The Bears, though devastated by the war with the east, never gave up independence and eventually proved too tenacious to defeat. Though broken, the Bear clan is a real concern (or at least perceived concern) for Koriash and the forest beyond the Ridge is strictly off limits to all but a few.
All matters concerning the city and the surrounding lands are governed by The Council of the Sword. The Council members are made up of the wealthiest and most influential citizens in Koriash but even the Council owes allegiance to the High Priest Eostra who resides in The Temple built high up on the slopes of what used to be called the mountain of the World Spirit.
Animistic beliefs, though still practiced among the clans, have been superseded by religion and The Temple oversees all religious affairs in the city and surrounding lands. The Temple is the home and work place of the priests and initiates, once inducted, are bound to The Temple for life. No one has even been inside The Temple save the initiates and priests and of course Eostra herself, who has never been seen to leave.
All in all the Council runs a rather smooth ship and the people of the land have little in lack of food and protection. The society values productivity and piety and those that bring food and goods into the city walls are greatly valued. However, the highest positions in the city are held by the merchants who deal in such goods and the majority of the Council are wealthy merchants.
Specific notes:
Your people officially worship a pantheon of Gods. One of which is Tekwetlem the Savoir. You can make up the others.
Your people are settled and agrarian. However, some semi-nomadic clans remain in the area.
The High Priest at the Temple is Eostra. The Temple is run by Priests who are rarely seen outside the temple. They dress in red robes. They do very official temple things.
Animistic beliefs are not in vogue but are tolerated. The only Totem of any significance that is considered sacred in the Eagle Owl. A giant bronze Eagle Owl perches atop the Temple, wings outstretched, eyes aglow with flame.
You are heading into the Darklands, so named by Tekwetlem the saviour after his return from his victorious war against the clans of the forest. During the Cleansing, the Bear Clan was the most problematic for Tekwetlem’s armies. Occasional Bear Clan raids still occur. They have not been wiped out. There are rumours that some Wolf Clan still exist in the Darklands… though those may only be tales told to scare the children.
Hosted and narrated by:
James Binnie (dancingplanet)
Started 01/11/15.
Scenes played: 0
License: Community License
