A Court of Ash and Blood

About the adventure

Twelve hundred years have passed since the last Solstice change as a cold wind sweeps across Kalunar. In the north, the wind roars through the black stone spires of an ancient bastion, across the jagged crystal fields, and over the Bear-toothed mountains bringing a winter’s bite to a fur tent encampment. Here soldiers, more beast than fey, huddle close to a scorching flame. A booming command from a red-coat lord rouses them to their feet for the battle of Frost and Shadow never sleeps. With a change in direction, the wind blows southeast as snow and ice fade to the barren lands. From the sprawling expanse of the Great Labyrinth City, Fey march to the sound of drums and melody. Beyond the Carrion Wastes, a monolith rises from the Whispering Sands. Within its walls, cheers and shouts bellow from the Charnel Pit as warriors spill blood for the Trickster King. The energy of celebration and chaos whips the wind into a tempest destined for western shores. Like a howling banshee, the wind rushes through the floating isles of Kalunar where creatures of light weather the storm to awaken brethren in their holy temple. Falling from the heavens, the tempest winds draw on The Depths of Sanrath. Beneath this ocean's surface, three families clash for control over their shattered kingdom. The waters swell with their hatred shifting the tempest into a typhoon. The storm rages crashing into the ravenous Wilds of Garoora, a place where not even a storm’s fury can tame those within. Tempered by the wilds, the soft breeze of the arctic wind traverses the endless meadows to a sacred grove. A priestess bows her head in reverence as an offering is placed at the base of the Tree of Life. With a small gust that ruffles the branches, a scarlet leaf falls for the first time. A time of change has come to Kalunar. As if carried by the gale, the priestess spreads word of the omen. The winds blow south. In a land of endless summer, in the temple halls of Vaeyar, a young Queen shivers. Something she has not done in centuries. Seeking the comfort and warmth of Summer’s Fire, she pushes through the ruby doors only to find darkness where light should be. Horns sound, and banners are raised as a call to arms is made. War is upon Kalunar. it is not all grim for the world of Kalunar, for the winds of change bring new opportunities. Opportunities lead to adventures and adventures create legends. How will you leave your mark on Kalunar?

Additional Details

How to prepare

Microphone and Discord are required. Being familiar with Dungeons and Dragons is a plus but not required. I ask the players to be open-minded when it comes to character creation. We will be collaborating as a team to make a cohesive group. Expectations of Players - Respectful treatment of the DM and other players involved - No hate speech of any sort - Have fun

What I provide

All handouts will be provided during session 0. I will be providing a link to the game.

Gameplay details

What is it about? Welcome to Kalunar, a demi-plane shaped by ages of discovery, conflict, and renewal. A land scarred by the warring of courts and outsiders. This is a high fantasy homebrew setting of my own design inspired by the Feywild and Fey Courts. There are four major courts, Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter. The lands of each court are unique to their season and ruled over by an Archfey. Under their rule, the season territories are divided into domains of the appointed High Fey, creatures who have gained incredible power over the arcane magics of Kalunar. Houses of nobility offer oaths to the High Fey in exchange for wealth and status. Knight Orders roam through the lands protecting their court from threats both within and beyond their borders. Often, war broke out between rival courts. Some wars were minor and resolved quickly while others consumed all of Kalunar. The most devastating of them created a divide so great among the Eladrin of Kalunar that it ripped tears into a realm of shadow known as Penumbra. Ravenous creatures poured through these pockets of shadow into Kalunar bringing new threats to the world. Overly the centuries more change has been brought to the realm. The appearance of an aquatic kingdom, celestials, and darklings has forever transformed Kalunar. If you are a fan of Fey Courts, queens, kings, knights, political intrigue, cataclysmic wars, or epic fantasy tales, then come leave your mark upon Kalunar. Side Note: While this is inspired by the Feywild and Fey courts, nearly all playable races are available with custom lore to fit the setting. Session 0: Session 0 is a free session where the players gather to meet Me, the DM. In this session, we will discuss various things, such as any rule changes or variant rules being used. However, the most important thing we will be discussing is what you, the players, want in a campaign. What are some of the things you have always wanted to do in Dungeons and Dragons? Or is there something that excites you about the Kalunar setting? As a group, we will create the campaign premise and from that, the characters you will be playing. This is a very involved process with the DM and players collaborating together. This ensures that the campaign will be something that you, the players, will enjoy. Expect this to be the same length as a normal session.

Content warnings

(none)

Safety tools used

Breaks
Session 0
X, N, and O Cards

How will character creation work

The basics of creating your characters are as follows: - Characters will be starting out at level 1 in this adventure. - The players will have several options to determine their character's stats. Discussed in Session 0. - Nearly all playable races are available with custom lore to fit the setting. - All official classes are allowed. - Starting equipment can be determined by your Class and Background choices. - Alignments - I prefer not to have Evil aligned characters in my groups as they more often than not become a problem and a hindrance to other players’ enjoyment of the game. However, if you are willing to work with me on how to do Evil correctly, I am open to the idea. - Backstories will be done using a Heroic Chronicle. We will roll the background and then work together to create a unique in-depth story full of rich content for your character. This will help tie to the world of Kalunar and give me some fun things to pull into the story. - When it comes to Multi-classing, your character has to have a reason for going into their 2nd class. There should be some story element that takes place to introduce the character to this second class. I am a fan of multi-class but not a fan of taking a class because it grants X benefits. We can work on this together if you are looking forward to multi-class as the campaign progresses.

Players can expect

• Find a game to join solo or search for a professional game master for you and your friends/coworkers/family.
• Book your session and wait for the Game Master to approve you.
• If you don't have a blast with your first game, your next game is on us.