Dungeons and Dragons 5E: Esnomere, a Fractured Land of Factions and Sleeping Gods. Homebrew Campaign

About the adventure

**History of Esnomere**: There was a time that the Gods lived among the mortals on Esnomere. Five Gods in particular (Regnan, Bear, Agaricus, Burere, Radiare) took an invested interest in this region. Despite their disagreements on how the land should be managed, they agreed it must be preserved. Other Gods began to visit this area and destroyed the balance. The Gods decided to become Guardians of the region, becoming one with the land to protect the balance they had created. Many of these stories have been lost and exaggerated with time. Many had –attempted pilgrimages to the Guardian sites to try and gain understanding of this region’s past, very few had succeeded. For much of the recorded history of Esnomere, the Errstons have ruled with varying levels of effectiveness depending upon the heir on the throne. Years of familial rule over the land led to many divisions, wars, and destroying of lands. People began to form their own factions in order to gain power and land for their movements and ideals. The Stones were the first to leave, eager for the Burere’s Temptation burning off in the horizon. Next, Stollid led a movement of beauty to the lush southern fields jutting against the permafrost south. The Errstons conceded these regions after either battles or deals. Several hundred years passed with peace among the regions. The Errstons have been able to hold their tenuous ruling due to the exclusive access to Agaricus’ gift. Queen Inari the Fierce hungered to gain back the land her weak ancestors had conceded. War raged among the lands as she fought against nature and her fellow mortals to try and contain a piece of Radiare’s Beam. She succeeded in reaching the beam. Her desire for power was so strong that she could not stop herself from walking directly into the Beam. The fighting stopped all across Esnomere. The Amendoin were formed during the beginning of this war as an army of merchants. After the Beam Incident, their focus became preventing anyone else from the fate of Queen Inari the Fierce. The Errstons conceded more land, this time to the Amendoin, peace ensued for several hundred more years. Tensions began to rise between the Errstons and the Amendoins. Sick of being mistreated and set aside, the Star Aligned formed in a swift and powerful movement. The Star Aligned are seeking some power of their own. **Factions** May choose one during character creation, or go faction-less. *Errstons: The Errstons is the original ruling family of the region of Esnomere. Through years of wars, concessions, deals, and trades their grasp on the land has weakened. At one point they ruled from the rigidly frozen south to the dry northern mountains to the dangerous sea to the east. Now most of their rule is contained in the western forests and the cities of Edodes and Ergon. The recently appointed Queen Intari II has begun making demands that the Amendoin begin to concede their claim to the land between Ergon and Zweme. *Amendoin: The Amendoin is a band of merchants that to joined together several hundred years ago to fight oppression under the rule of the Errstons. Through this period of time the merchants’ collective power incrementally grew. Under the leadership of a small brilliantly-cyan individual named Kang, the Amendoin have gained leadership of the city of Zweme along with the waters and land east of it. Rumors are spreading that Kang is raising an army using the power from Radiare’s beam and foreign weapons bought from the Forbidden Coast. *Star Aligned: The Star Aligned are a group of peasants, laborers, small merchants, convicts, veterans, and other groups that have been overlooked. They live in and between the cities of Ergon and Zweme. The recently renewed conflict between the Errstons and Amendoin led to the uprise of this group. Their leader, Ildin, is an enigmatic Yuan-ti that was formerly part of the ruling family Errstons. They escaped the dungeons of Edodes to rise as the leader of the Star Aligned. *Stollid: The Followers of Stollid live by one motto, Beauty of All Else. They have spent the majority of their recorded history beautifying the lush southern valleys. Stollid is both the name of their movement and the title of the current ruler. The process for selecting a new Stollid has and will always be different each time. The position of Stollid is more decoration than anything as most of these people prefer to live in small diverse enclaves. Its rumored the current Stollid, a renowned wood carver, has been making several trips to Bear’s Redemption. *Stones: The Stones have lived most of the last thousand years in isolation from the rest of Esnomere, north of the fault. The initial founders left to find power in Burere’s Temptation. A few apparently succeeded and created a settlement up north. Very few people have left the area in that time. Those who have are generally considered ‘mad’ or ‘diseased’ as they had to pass Burere’s Temptation, not an easy task. A path has been created recently by the Amendoin to allow the Stones the freedom to leave without the same fears of having to pass the Temptation and the Amendoin get exclusive trading rights. The current leader of the Stones, Hisgim, is seen as weak and ineffective by many people. They are on a mission to change that perspective. **Gods** The Gods have been sleeping for years, but their powers are still present in the world... *Regnant the Watcher is symbolized as a towering and gnarled tree with no leaves. Domains - Knowledge, Torment *Bear the Redeemer is often symbolized by a clenched fist or a half-masked beautiful face. Domains - Strength, Mercy *Agaricus the Gifter is symbolized by a spore print of a mushroom, often resembling a star. Domains - Life, Trickery *Burere the Tempter is symbolized by a coin engulfed in flames. Domains - Fire, Fortune *Radiare the Destroyer is symbolized by an empty hour glass. Domains - Death, Time ***Rumors of new Gods have spotted up throughout Esnomere while the five sleep... (We can work together to create a God to fit your character) **Characters** Make a level 2 character taking both starting equipment and starting gold. Use the standard array or the point buy system. I will provide a DnDBeyond Campaign link, all official DnD options allowed.

Additional Details

How to prepare

Please have a webcam and mic ready to use on Zoom. Please make sure you also have Zoom installed and an account created beforehand. I will share my DNDBeyond link for character creation and access to sourcebooks, dice are included on the DnDBeyond character sheet. Please also make a Roll20 account so that I may share our battlemaps.

What I provide

I bring access to DnDBeyond, Roll20, and self-created maps. You may have digital copies of any of my creations :) I will also share a summary of our adventure post game.

Gameplay details

I want to be sure that everyone at my table is comfortable, included, and enjoying themselves. I can tailor the game to how to best fit the party. I do have this planned to include adult themes that are common in our real world and that we can see on the news. I will ask all my players to complete this Google Form, https://forms.gle/dRMUptAkVBTZksdz6 , to let me know if there are any themes they would like me to avoid as well as other questions to best help tailor this to you. As a safety toolkit, I like to use X, N, and O cards. ****Copied from TTRPF Safety Toolkit V2.4 by Kienna Shaw and Lauren Bryant-Monk X, N, and O cards are check-in tools. They can be used by tapping physical cards, typing the letter in the chat function of the video conference software or virtual tabletop you are using, or using hand signals. Before the game begins, remind everyone that they are available and how to use them. The X card can be used at any point if a participant is uncomfortable with the content happening in-game. When the X card is used by tapping the card or typing an “X” in the chat, the group can change, rewind, or skip the content. The N card can be used at any point if a participant feels like they are headed towards an X. When the N card is used by tapping the card or typing an “N” in the chat, the group can change the content or have the scene “fade to black.” The O card can be used at any point if a participant wants to continue with the content. When the O card is used by tapping the card or typing an “O” in the chat, the group is ok to continue with the content. They can also regularly be prompted by a “O?” asked out loud or in the chat to check-in if everyone is still ok.

Content warnings

(none)

Safety tools used

(none)

How will character creation work

Characters will be at level 2 and take starting equipment and starting gold values. Please use standard array or point buy. Characters will be created on your own on DnDBeyond, I will share my campaign link with you. All official DND material is allowed. I discourage multi-classing, unless you are adamant. If you need help creating your character please reach out to me.

Players can expect

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