The Tower Campaign

The old gods are dead. Centuries ago, mankind waged war against and destroyed them through mastery of The Weave in an catastrophic event known as “The Sundering.” Divine magic does not exist, but the energy from their dead bodies lingers, causing strange things to happen in different locales. These are referred to as Dominions. Most people avoid Dominions at all costs, save a few brave adventurers seeking fame and fortune.

Because of the devastation that mankind wrought, the other races view them with fear and veiled hostility. They are the majority race, and wield most of the arcane power. Magical power is taught in a centralized school, The Tower; the Tower-sanctioned casters are known as Spellbinders (Wizards). The Tower also views all magical items as rightfully under their jurisdiction, for everyone’s safety. Anybody with a magical item will be forced to turn it over the the authorities.

Untrained casters are called Savants. These include sorcerers, bards, and other spell casting classes. They are hunted and either captured or killed by The Tower. As such, they use their power in secret.

The Tower is located in a city called Fairhaven. Fairhaven is ruled by 9 Spellbinders. They wield an enormous amount of power; 1 from each magic school and the Ascendant. Each is the head of a College of the Arts. Necromancy spellbinders do the healing. It’s not as clean as divine healing; those healed are left scarred. Returning a soul to a body is not possible. Abjuration spellbinders maintain a shield of protection around the city, keeping other races and monsters at bay. Citizenry in Fairhaven is merit-based. The best and brightest can gain access, but the rest of humanity and other races are rejected.

The area outside the Tower is wild and dangerous. The frontiersmen that live in isolated hamlets scratch out a living as best they can.

This campaign takes place in and around Swynham, a day’s journey west of the town of Westerford, a backwater village on the wilderness frontier. You are an exploration and adventuring company, the _______________________, assembled to explore ancient ruins, to search for powerful spellbinder artifacts, and to locate and map the unsettling Dominions scattered throughout the land. Far to the north lies the Elfwood, to the northwest is the last human settlement of Elfshore, to the west is the Desolation and the Span, and to the south is the outpost of Mallowwick in the Barren Hills.