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Campaign

The one things that heroes are never warned about is the difficulty of saving the world. It can be done, but if you do it too often people come to expect it of you.
- Jiliehaolasien, Elven historian

The Village of Sha'Kay

The village of Sha'Kay is an old village dating back as far as the Namat Empire, and possibly further (history is vague on this as this was the age of the Wizard War and much was lost in that period). During the time of the Namat Empire it was a prosperous fishing centre and the old docks that once housed part of the Namat fleet are still used as the village harbour even though half of them have rotted and sunk beneath the Sun Set Ocean. Like most local villages, Sha'Kay owes allegiance to a lord - in this case, the Barons of Stonywell - who nominally protect the villages under their domain from, well, other barons who want more land. They're also a good status symbol, because they are what's left of the old nobility and being ruled by them is generally a sign of a good area to live or settle in.

For all practical purposes the village is run by a council of elders who are all older, experienced, wiser (you hope!) and don't run any of the town businesses, to give them a more impartial outlook to disputes. There is also a Disupter, a village diplomat of sorts who breaks tie votes among the council of elders and is reliable and honest. A Holder of Truth generally arrives once a year or so and deals with any issues the Disupter thinks he or she cannot judge impartially and also ascertain that the Disupter has not abused their office. They sometimes talk to the Elders as well, but rarely judge them.

Minor aside: Using magic of any kind at the Barons estate is punishable by death, instantly, no questions asked and no quarter given. Most believe this is a holdover of an old law to prevent those with magic from ruling a barony.

The Village Elders:
Coris the bold, human fighter (retired) - the leader of the village militia but organizes strategy more than fights due to old age and his joints acting up.
Elendai Morinsael, human commoner - The oldest woman in the village, respected for her quick mind and sage advice.
Jakir out of Stonywell, quarter-orc aristocrat - His mom was a pretty half-orc, his dad the former Baron. He's ugly, but he IS nobility - and he's networked like you wouldn't believe ...
[Another NPC, to make it 4. Looking for PC ideas or relatives. Can always make the council larger.]

Advisers:
Lokir Bragin, dwarf - The village blacksmith. He arrived 5 years ago when the last one died, literally walking into town and asking if the smith's widow wanted to sell her place. No one is sure how he knew the smith (Karn) was dead, and people hint at foul play, but he's done a decent job, even for a non-dwarf.
Mad Hariet, human herbswoman - An old lady who lives by herself. Some call her a Wise One, others a Witch but she generally ignores them all. The women of the of village swear by her and, well, no one talks about it but she's the big reason the village hasn't had any big population problems.
Walter, human cleric - An older man who is spending his twilight years in a small village healing those who ask it of him. He rarely bothers the gods for anything and is content to have a nice, peaceful time waiting to die.

The Disputer:
Urdu, human ranger - A farmer who mostly keeps to himself, Urdu thinks about what is good for all (especially animals) rather than individuals and has earned a lot of respect for his impartial views.

The Local Nobility: The Stonywells
Lady Eliose - The wife of Baron Helden, she mostly manages the estate and leaves things for her son to run. Few people really have much to say about her good or bad, she's mostly just a figurehead.
Baren Helden - The former Baron. Dead five years ago.
Baron Holden - The current Baron of Stonywell, he's known for being harsh when it comes to justice and acts like a true Baron (privately, most people refer to it as "living beyond his means"). While taxes have increased ever since he inherited the title his father was very light on taxes so no one has begin grumbling yet. He is unmarried.
Eric of Stonywell - Holden's younger brother. He spends most of his time hunting.

Hadga - The cook at the Baron's, she is famous in the region for making deserts to die for. (There's a local legend that one dinner guest of the late Baron's once killed someone to get a piece of her bumbleberry pie.)
Lirk - Her son. A bit simple, but kept on because his mother is the cook. He generally runs errands - unless he forgets or mixes them up or gets lost.

Radik, Baron's guard - The only knight in Sha'Kay, Radik is one of the royal knights and has served the family since before Namat fell since his magical armour keeps him young and healthy as it does for all of the knights, though they can still die as other men do. He is completely loyal to the Barony and will do anything to ensure the line continues.
Most of the other guards are youths from Sha'Kay and other smaller villages that he's trained. There are generally 50 in total and 10-20 in service at any one time.

The Fallbrooks
Isan Fallbrook - The Baron of Fallbrook to the south, Isan is an older man who apparently fancied Eliose in her youth and lost her to Helden. With Helden dead, his men have been making repeated forays into Stonywell land but so far neither has declared "war" against each other, mostly beause neither can afford to field many combatants. It's no secret that Isan wants the docks of Sha'Kay though. His wife died of plague twenty years ago and he has no heir but has formally adopted two people (and possibly more in secret).
Tashir and Tamil, twin brother and sister - Currently adopted by Isan Fallbrook. Both are in their early teens and kept in seclusion because Isan is afraid of assassination attempts by those unscrupulous Stonywells.

Other NPCs will be added as the players make them up. (It'll include players families and, possibly, an NPC made up by the player to have trained them in their class).

Basic Map of Sha'Kay

Sha'Kay and environs

Places of Interest in Sha'Kay
The Inn of the Cursed Bow - The local tavern. Inn means that they let people sleep overnight on the floor for a fee :) It's name comes from some ancestor of the current owner who was horribly unlucky with a bow.
The owner is a human woman named Donna whose husband Kerry makes all the food (stew, bread, ale. All you get, all there is. But big servings)

 
Introduction
Make A PC
The World of Ios
Updates
Suckers -- err,Players
Campaign
A Glossary
Contact the DM