The talk of the streets and taverns has all been about the so-called death curse: a wasting disease afflicting everyone who’s ever been raised from the dead. Victims grow thinner and weaker each day, slowly but steadily sliding toward the death they once denied.
When they finally succumb, they can’t be raised—and neither can anyone else, regardless of whether they’ve ever received that miracle in the past. Temples and scholars of divine magic are at a loss to explain a curse that has affected the entire region, and possibly the entire world.
The cause is a necromantic artifact called the Soulmonger, which is located somewhere in Chult, a mysterious peninsula far to the south, ringed with mountains and choked with rainforests.
Hi all, I have been fascinated by this adventure since I learned of it and decided to try running it on here. As a DM, I promise at least a post per day, normally more, and I will work as much of your backstory into this campaign as I can since it is a long running one (level 1-15) so the more you give me the better. I'd like my players to also post once a day or warn us if you might not update for short bit, life happens. Any level of experience is welcome. If this sounds like a good fit for you, keep reading. I look forward to seeing your characters.
There are gonna be some homebrew rules for this that I think will both make it more difficult (I am running it as a meat grinder) and more interesting. The first is lingering injuries, when a PC goes down to 0 or fewer hit points, you'll make a constitution save and if you fail, you will gain a random injury until it is healed with an appropriate medicine check or sufficient level healing spell. Second, long rests are only gonna be gained when you rest in a safe location, a small camp in the jungle is not safe, this is to make random encounters in the jungle more interesting than just unload all your spells and then rest after, think of the jungle as a large dungeon - don't worry, there will be enough long rests to stay alive. Lastly, as suggested in the module for a harder campaign, death save DCs will be 15 instead of 10 due to the Soulmonger pulling you towards death.
I will also be running the start of the adventure a bit different than in the book, we will be starting on a ship bound for Chult from the Sword Coast. Each PC will be headed to the jungle for their own reasons. Feel free to either do your own research on Chult or send me a pm, I will work with you to come up with a hook for you to be headed into the jungle.
Character creation: We will be starting at level one. Any official content is okay, UA is a maybe but feel free to ask, no homebrew. Anything from a different setting can be used but make sure it fits Forgotten Realms. We will do stats once I pick players. I am asking for a bit of your character's personality, just give a general description of it. For the fear, it doesn't have to be something big, it might never come up, I just enjoy having some flaws like that for characters. I will say for rangers, lets use the Deft Explorer variant over Natural Explorer, means more dice rolling. If you have any questions about character creation, feel free to reach out to me.
To apply, please fill this out:
Character name -
Race/Class -
Brief backstory -
Reason for traveling to Chult -
Personality -
Fear -
I think this is everything, if I think of anything else or get a good question, I'll comment below on that. I'll keep this up until Sunday night, so take your time.
As a young hatchling, Xanthus was left outside of the House of the Purple Orchid. The monks took the kenku in and raised them with the other orphans that made their way into the monastery. The young bird proved to be a quick study, picking up the skills the monks taught him with minimal repetition. As a kenku, Xanthus of course, had trouble developing new techniques or methods for doing things, but, was good at imitating others. Xanthus spent a lot of time in the library, reading any book he could get his hands on. He found several books talking about kenku, detailing how they lost the ability to fly and ability to invent. This of course, bothered the young kenku. Why should he be punished for something one of his ancient ancestors did. After this, he spent a lot of time wondering if there was anything he might be able to do to get kenku back in the good graces of Grazz't (for in his reading, Xanthus felt that Grazz't was the one who cursed the kenku).
In one of the books, he came across a legend of a kenku who regained the ability to fly. The young monk had never considered the possibility that he might be able to do that. The kenku supposedly learned to fly on the peninsula of Chult. When he came of age, Xanthus asked the abbot if he could go on a mission to learn more about the world and more about other kenkus. He promised to return within two years of the date of his departure.
Race / Class : Hill Dwarf / Druid (Circle of Stars)
Backstory :
Barkas is a hill dwarf who wandered the world of as much as he could in search of signs. He keeps a rolled up map and star chart in his pocket, frequently taking notes on it, some legible, some are not, almost in his own language. He has always felt a strong bond with the earth and with animals, but even more so with the stars. He feels that they tell him a story, and guide him. He feels that there is a secret code there that he must unlock, that will lead him to his destiny. He feels a bond with other beings, animals and other races, and can connect with them, sometimes much better nonverbally rather than with crude words and formalities.
He is wearing a disheveled dirty set of leather armor, dirty messed up dark hair that doesn't seem to bother him. He carries a club that is sized right for him and a shield. He wears an odd cap on his head from the top of the skull of a wolf, a focus point of his energies.
Barkas feels drawn to Chult, he has the feeling that there is a great convergence of forces and that his skills will be needed. He feels compelled to go. He searched the skies each night on his way there, lying on his back, staring at the stars, trying to understand what this meant. His dreams are dominated by Muamman Duathal, commanding him to go there, but his form and instructions are so vague, ill-defined. When consulting his star charts, he uncovers mention of a lost city within Chult that he feels will be integral to awakening his stargazing and the power of the stars within his own body. There is a confluence of the lines on the chart and he feels that something powerful will happen there, an awakening. If asked , he will talk about this at length.
He walks into the port to board ship, looking like he has been many days on the road but used to it, with thick calluses on his feet. He has learned magic of his own, from nature, gaining in his skill. He ambles through the streets to see what rumors he can hear and taking notes, compelled also by curiosity, to the heart of the city. He is not as interested in the coin, as he is interested in the experience and what he feels to be his duty, aiming to end the curse on the land.
Personality : Odd, frequently consults his star map, an outdoorsy dwarf who has been in the woods perhaps a little too long.
Fear : A crowded room in which he must follow etiquette and all eyes are on him, a formal dinner in which he must hold his pinky just right drinking wine from a glass. And snakes. He just can’t abide them.
Barkas :
And his star chart / map, rolled up and carried with him wherever he goes :
Character name - Robin Holdcrest Race/Class - Custom Lineage / Artificer 1 (Going wizard from here out though.) Brief backstory - See below Reason for traveling to Chult - Her friend is from there and she is traveling with him to see this strange land of giant lizards he constantly speaks of. Personality - Curious, direct, and a bit more on the serious side than easy-going. Fear - Robin still has nightmares of the vanished city. She fears losing those she cares for to something beyond her power to do anything about.
This is not brief, as I am adapting the backstory from another game I play in with this same character, but here is the backstory...
Robin was born in her paren's home in Waterdeep. It was a dismal house, more shanty than actual home, cobbled together from whatever could be salvaged from the nearby city. It was located in the dock ward, with warehouses all around.
Robin's father worked for the Xanathar guild as a theif, enforcer, whatever was needed. He was just starting out when she was young, but has worked his way up in the organization over the years. He is infamous now among those in the know, and well-respected in the thieve's guild of Waterdeep.
Robin's mother is a painter and has passed that trait on to another of Robin's siblings, her elder sister Austin. While Senna, Robin's mother, has never managed to make a name for herself with her paintings, Austin has done so quite nicely.
Robin has a total of eleven siblings, 5 brothers and 6 sisters. They range in jobs around the city, with one of her sisters in politics another in the Thieve's guild with her father. One is an infamous merchant in town, since he often works with the Boromar Clan, selling stolen goods. He has a shop in The market. One of her less-known brothers is a priest of The Shadow, though he and Robin get along well enough.
Robin was always tinkering or reading as a child, and enjoyed taking things apart and putting them back together. Her father, never to let something go unused, apprenticed her to a sage at the library in Waterdeep. Robin worked there for several years, enjoying the time as much as she could, reading when allowed, and having access to a large amount of both time and books. She found she liked the power of words, and writing, and became adept at bringing forth power with her writing.
That all changed when, without warning, Robin was marched out of the university one day. She was not allowed to go home, not allowed to find her family, just forced out of the university. She was taken into a small room, where she was made to wait, then, with no one answering her questions, taken from the city. Only once away from the city was she allowed to send word back to her family. She recieved a letter back, from her father, saying she was to stay away, as there were rumors of some strange goings on with Robin's Sage master. he would contact her when he knew more.
Robin traveled to Elturel and lived there, earning some coin with her researching ability, as well as the tinkering she was able to do. it was not as nice of a life, or as rewarding, as her time at the university. Eventually word came that the man she had apprenticed to at the university had been found guilty of high treason, and exicuted. Robin's family let her know she was ok to return to Waterdeep. Before she could do so though, Elturel disappeared.
Robin had been outside of the city, gathering supplies, so had not been there when the city vanished. The sight of the empty crater, where they city once had been, will haunt her dreams all the days of her life. She knew there was nothing she could do here, so she fled to Baldur's Gate.
As she fled she came across an injured man. Quickly using her magic, she healed the worst of his wounds, then pulled him with her, away from the fiends that were now hunting the lands around the missing city. She had to force the man to keep going, as his wounds were bad enough that, even with her healing, he was barely on his feet. They made it, Robin still does not know how, but they managed to keep just ahead of those fiends, and reach safety in the end. Aaenil, the human barbarian, has been a stalwart companion to her ever since.
Aaenil, Robin learned, was from Chult. The two of them traveled back to Waterdeep, to make sure Robin's family was doing well, but they did not stay there. Instead they returned to Baldur's Gate, and, from there, took a boat to Chult. Aaenil wished to return to his home, and Robin wished to see this strange land of huge lizards the man spoke of constantly.
Character Name: Abomwe Tekilli Race: "Hill Dwarf', one of the Dur Authalar or Jungle Dwarves of Chult Class: Fighter Background: Folk Hero.
Native to the deep forests of Chult she often serves as a guide to outsiders when not leading raids against the Batiri goblins. She finds non-Chultans strange folk but endearing in their own way and enjoys their company as long as they respect her and the jungle.
She left her homeland recently on the trail of one of the outsiders who had stolen an artifact from her people, with him dead and the artifaact in her keeping she is sailing home on this stinking wooden death-trap and hoping to touch land again.
Personality- Reserved and no nonsense but with a fierce loyalty to those she finds worthy.
Fear- Failing her people or those she calls friends.
Race/Class/Background - Deep Gnome / Artificer (Full Battle Smith for now) / Faction Agent
Reason for traveling to Chult - She is looking to recover a certain relic or text on behalf of The Lord's Alliance. Also do research and stop anything threatening the mainland. Get her father's favor back doing amazing deeds
Personality - Herlien seems a bit of a ditz on the surface, but in truth she is actually fairly bright in certain areas. She is empathetic, shy, silly, but also has a strict dedication to The Lord's Alliance, her allies, and the mission she has at-hand.
Fear - Her father never forgiving her/Letting people down
Brief backstory - Herlien was born on a boat as her two deep gnome parents were escaping from the North after their home in the Underdark was taken. On their travels to find a new home, Herlien's mother was abducted in the night by an unknown force; she never met her mother. Her father traveled desperate with his daughter and located Citadel Felbarr. The two gnomes were accepted by the dwarves. They were both very poor, working as simple cobblers and boot-shiners, but they got by. When Citadel Felbarr was attacked by the orcs, Herlien brought shame to her name when she fell asleep during her watch after drinking too much and allowed orcs to do a lot of damage. Her father, furious, did not wish to see her after such a shameful event that did a lot of damage for the dwarves who were kind enough to accept them.
Herlien fled, ashamed and heartbroken, to the nearby city of Silverymoon where she continued her cobbling services. She soon came across another gnome, who took her in and taught her to expand more upon her skills in cobbling, to dabble into being an artificer. Soon, a romance blossomed between these two gnomes. As Herlien's abilities grew, she was invited into The Lord's Alliance by her newfound love, Lorilla Pilwicken, who was working under them as a laborer and tinkerer. With a new purpose in her life, Herlien wishes to prove herself in The Lord's Alliance, proving herself to be reliable and hopefully earning the approval of her father and the dwarves of Citadel Felbarr once more.
Character name: Yasheira Tombseeker Race: Half-elf Class: Warlock (Undying) Brief backstory: Yasheira was something as unusual as a half-elf from Calimport, her human mother a barmaid that died when Yasheira was very young, a victim of an outbreak of plague in the city, and her father presumably a visiting elven adventurer. Yasheira took care of herself in the streets of Calimport for some years before being forced to join the Tomb Seekers, a group of crypt plundering scoundrels led by the ruthless Aseir Basha. For several years Yasheira helped the Tomb Seekers by going into places the other members wouldn't fit, making her a valuable member of the group. In time the Tomb Seekers became the family Yasheira never had, Aseir being a sort of father to her. Recently the Tomb Seekers entered a long forgotten tomb in the Calimshan desert, dating back to the Shoon empire. The tomb was particularly deadly and after accidentally awakening an immensely powerful lich only Yasheira was still alive. Reason for traveling to Chult: The lich let Yasheira leave his tomb on condition that she was to be his agent in the world outside, her first mission being to find a powerful necromantic artifact supposedly hidden somewhere in the jungles of Chult. Yasheira is now on a ship bound for Chult where fantastic adventures awaits her. Personality: Yasheira is dangerously curious, which often gets her into trouble. She is also very social and attention seeking, looking for a new family, even in the form of an adventuring party. Fear: To be lonely.
Brief backstory - Mica was born and raised in the tough lands of the Savage Frontier in Faerun. The youngest son of a large Illuskan logging family, he felt drawn to the wilds at a young age. As he grew older, his cruel Dao heritage began to manifest itself through changes in his appearance and a strange, subtle magical connection. The genie bloodline is viewed as a gift by some and a curse by many, but no one knew from whence it came in Mica’s case. His parents, who did not have the Dao blood, shunned him as a reminder of some embarrassing or horrifying deed in the family's past. Others viewed him as different or strange and he had few companions growing up, which suited him as he always felt more comfortable around animals. Unwelcome by family and friends, and drawn by a sense of wanderlust, he left his family and wandered the wilderness. Tapping into his connection to the earth his bloodline provides, he taught himself the ways of a ranger and hunter and wandered the Savage Frontier, protecting those that cast him out from the threats of the wild. He usually avoided the main cities, but while in Yartar trading supplies, he encountered a merchant with strange bones and skins, spreading the legends of Chult. He desired to find out more, and started that day on a long journey that led him to this cursed ship. He regrets the day he sat foot on board and spends his time staring at the horizon, looking longingly for land.
Reason for traveling to Chult - Mica has heard the tales of great beasts lurking in the jungles of Chult, and has seen some of the skulls and exotic skins others have sent back in his travels. Curious, he set sail for the distant shores to find, and hunt, some of these monsters himself.
Personality - He is calm and thoughtful, and doesn’t display many wide swings of emotions. He is patient and uncomplaining, and very tolerant of pain and discomfort. Slow to anger, but violent when provoked. Protective of those that are in need, even if he is outside their circle.
Fear -
large, bustling crowds or mobs of people. He is also self-conscious of being touched by others, especially unasked, due to the condition and feel of his skin.
Race/Class - Hill Dwarf Barbarian (or maybe fighter)
Brief backstory - Karrul works for the R&S Mercantile Co., which spans a good chunk of western Faerun. R&S makes most of their money by exploiting natural resources and shipping them back to the HQ in Baldur's Gate, where they sell to artisans. Karrul works in the DR (Dwarven Relations) department, where he's middle management. His job is to combat inefficiency within the ranks of the employees who do the gathering; that is to say, whenever an employee complains about work hours, inadequate food, pay, etc., Karrul's job is to relate his fist to their face until morale improves. And morale always improves when Karrul is on the job.
Reason for traveling to Chult - A logging branch of the R&S Mercantile Co. is a month overdue on its shipment. The company expects a strike due to the harsh working conditions. Karrul has been sent to get that shipment and get the employees working again.
Personality - Gruff and unlikable, but reliable. Karrul has a bad temper, but can be downright friendly when he isn't at work. He learned the importance of duty and respect of authority in the military, and that training has engrained itself in his personality. He doesn't like people who question orders and he certainly doesn't like people who think they know better than their superior officer.
Race/Class: Half-Wood Elf Warlock (The Fathomless)
Brief backstory: Arthur's life was one that centred around hard work, but within a loving family. He learned a love of the woods from his mother, but his heart lies with the sea, and salt water flows through his veins. His main role was as crew on his father's boat, and in mending the nets and preparing the fish caught when he wasn't sailing. He grew to love everything about the sea - her fickle nature, the breathtaking beauty, the exhilaration of sailing before a stiff breeze. On his final trip out he was sailing with his father again, when they were caught by an unexpected squall, and it took all their skill and strength to bring the boat around to flee before the wind. Suddenly a flash of lightning and all went dark.
The Event…
The darkness of unconsciousness gradually changed to the darkness of deep places, the pressure, and the almost liquid silence of a dark draped like velvet across his senses. Then the voice came, within his mind. 'It has been long years since one of you came into my domain. It has been longer still since I sensed the colour and sounds of the surface world. If you carry my awareness within you for a time, I shall give you a portion of my strength, to see you back safe to the world above.' Agreements made, there was a flash of pain on Arthur's right bicep, and then darkness again, until he was seen floating in the sea by a lookout on a boat bound for Chult... (This is all he currently recalls - more may come later...)
Reason for traveling to Chult: After his unplanned meeting with Tehano, and rescue, Art has worked his passage in gratitude for his rescue, but also to keep his mind from the ramifications of what has happened to him. Unbeknownst to him, he will be asked to explore the forests on behalf of his patron, who has only ever known the seas...
Personality: Art is a natural optimist, hard working and grounded - the sea teaches patience. His recent experiences, and worry about his father, have subdued his natural good cheer somewhat for now.
Fear: Not seeing his family again, and a gnawing fear that his father is lost to the deeps...
Race/Class - Assimar/Monk,1 (going to multiclass wizard)
Brief backstory - Avon was raised by a loving father named Vanros who adopted him when he saw Avon on the streets. Avon left his family to see the world. Ever since he went to Phandalin, something-or someone has been haunting him and Avon wants to find out what or who is. In Phandalin, he saw a very peculiar monastery that he explored. He was intrigued by the monks and started learning.
Reason for traveling to Chult - Avon heard that a source of necromancy was coming from Chult. Not being a wizard and knowing nearly nothing about the arcane arts, Avon went to Chult hoping that he might learn some magic as he thought that magic would be a great way to better himself
Secondary goals - Avon would like to find out who his mother and father are
- Avon would like to learn magic (path of the four elements)
-Avon would like to explore the world, starting with Chult
Personality - Easygoing and kind. Avon is friendly, and childish, playing and messing around.
Race/Class - High Elf Wizard Sage (Wizard's Apprentice)
Brief backstory - Having an aptitude for wizardly studies from a young age, Nelyna's family gladly gave her to the wizard Neralmo to be his ward and apprentice. She hasn't seen her family in years and service to Neralmo and the study of magic has been all she's really known. Neralmo has been known to take an interest in magical artifacts, curses, and the like, but instead of doing the dirty work himself, he prefers to send his apprentices out on expeditions. Nelyna prides herself on being his most prized apprentice so she usually gets the most exciting, and the most rewarding, jobs.
It was during one such job, though, that everything went awry, and Nelyna's career as a wizard, and her life, were nearly cut short. She and a small group of fellow adventurers had traveled to the tomb of a renowned wizard, searching for his amulet, which was said to have magnificent powers. The tomb was full of undead, but they proved to be short work for Nelyna and her companions. The amulet lay in the tomb's central chamber, inside the sarcophagus of the great wizard, Tharandur. It wasn't until they breached the sarcophagus' seal to retrieve the amulet that everything quickly turned to chaos. Tharandur was a powerful and dangerous lich! Nelyna barely escaped the tomb with her life. Both of her companions were slaughtered, and she was unable to retrieve the amulet. Returning to her master in disgrace, Neralmo expressed his disappointment with her but ensured that she would be able to get back in his good graces if she were to solve the mystery illness plaguing Chult...
Reason for traveling to Chult - Nelyna's master, the great wizard Neralmo, has charged her with investigating rumors of a strange disease spreading across the isle. Nelyna is to determine the source of such a disease and if it be magical in nature report back to her master for further instructions. However, Nelyna has been known to follow the spirit, rather than the exact letter, of her master's orders.
Personality - Nelyna is a kind, softspoken scholar who wears her heart on her sleeve. Having more experience in libraries and wizard's towers, she can be shy and socially awkward. When she is able to open up to others and make friends, however, they will find her a dedicated and loyal companion. She is constantly seeking to improve herself and believes one can never stop learning.
Fear - She has a deep-seated fear of failure that can often paralyze her in moments where great decisions need to be made.
Brief backstory - (Acolyte) Cordelia was raised in a small temple with her mother who had become a lay follower to Bahumut after a Paladin of the platinum dragon saved them from a group of bandits that had killed her father. From a young age she was taught the ways of the dragon God, learning to have a strong sense of justice and to bring peace even if force had to be used. As she grew into adulthood she took up the life of a traveling cleric, going up and down the sword coast to help where she could.
Reason for traveling to Chult - During her morning prayers one day, her mind was filled with visions of Chult and something gently compelled her to begin traveling there. She did not know why bit felt that there was a great evil or the like to confront it.
Personality - Cordelia is the type of person that would give someone the shirt off of her back and more if it would help them. She is a very sheltered person due her upbringing, not quite sure about the ways of the world and how things actually are. Despite this she has a strong sense of justice and does not put up with any injustice she sees. She does have a bit of trouble with this though as she can see that some people do seemingly bad things for good reasons. Over all though she is a friendly person and likes to meet new people and help them if she can. She is a bit gullible though and can be tricked at times.
Fear - Her biggest fear is failing her God as she feels like she was chosen to go to Chult. Other then that she is afraid of failing to protect others.
Brief backstory - Lassityr a.k.a. Squirrel Assassin grew up in the city of Baldur's Gate. Adopted by two loving parents when he was a cub, Lassityr learned a little bit about magic from his mother Cagney, but he also took up soldier training from his other mother Lacei, a member of the Flaming Fists. As a rookie officer, Lassityr helped stop a burglary ring headed by a group of druids who shifted into squirrel forms when committing their crimes. Lassityr stopped the leader and was made a hero. Sometime later, Lassityr saw a squirrel antagonizing Cagney outside of their home. Lassityr wounded the squirrel, who was actually a druid and the son of a noblewoman. This caused Lassityr to lose his badge and the city game him the moniker "Squirrel Assassin."
Reason for traveling to Chult - With no job, Lassityr began wondering about his roots. Lacei managed to track information about his birth parents supposedly being alive in Chult. Lassityr kissed his mothers goodbye and left for Chult.
Personality - Lassityr has an ear for mysteries, especially if they involve crime. He loves discovering clues and catching bad guys. He also loves his rapier and crossbow, referring to them as his "babies." He's a team player, though he isn't above having an ego.
Fear - His fear is that his parents are alive and he has to face them. Like many adopted kids, Lassityr has questions, one being "why did you abandon me?" He's worried that he'll just blow up at them for leaving him. There's also a small part of him that's worried he'll love his biological parents and abandon his mothers back in Baldur's Gate.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
I have an intelligence of six, I know what I'm doing.
Race/Class - Human Variant (Yuan-Ti or dragconic hertiage)/Ranger
Brief backstory/Reason for traveling to Chult -Berus is a guide for hire along with her father. On a routine job a group who hired them killed her father and abducted her to sell into slavery. Berus was able to escape but her captures she found out were from Chult. She hunts them now to avenge her father's death and her own captivity.
Personality - Berus is private, slow to trust, and a ferocious emeny. She is also naturally inquisitive to a fault and noble.
Fear - To never give her father honor by avenging his death!
Abomination. Treated like an Half-Orc as far as mechanics go, his actual appearance is more for adding 'color' to the game.
Kronk is an abomination, there is no other word for it. It seems a rather insane Necromancer was experimenting with mashing together different corpses and body parts. In one experiment, his last, unfortunately for him (or maybe not), he was working with the corpse of an halfling and a corpse of an ogre (one of which might have been the original Kronk, who ever that was, but that would be really stretching it.) Needless to say he was working 'discretely,' for fear of persecution you see, out in the middle of nowhere in a very secluded wood. As it happened a thunder and lightening storm sprang up out of nowhere, putting him into a pretty foul mood; but the upshot was dramatic to say the least. Just as he cast the final parts of the spell he was struck by one fork of a bolt of lightening, the other one struck the halfling/ogre meat he was working on. It appears to have killed the necromancer but at the same time transferred his life force into the mess he was ensorcelling, causing it to animate into the being that calls itself Kronk. By-the-by, for some reason unknown to himself, Kronk HATES necromancers (any good psychologist would say that Kronk is afraid of necromancers, but psychologists haven't been invented yet). He has no memory of what happened, just remembers coming to in a storm next to a rather crispy corpse and the brutal struggle to find a place in the world that followed. Kronk has a rather strange affinity for dead things, not anything really corrupt or depraved, but he thinks that they talk to him and that he can sometimes talk to them. He has no fear in that regard. I class Kronk as a half-orc, but he is not really, as stated he is a monstrosity, with a rather intense charisma for such a creature. He thinks that lightening gives him powers, just what kind, well it could be that he is just delusional, but who knows, there are stranger things running around. When he became aware of his surroundings the first time he was very confused, no thoughts entered his head as to what had happened or what was going on. Stumbling around in the woods he came upon the necromancer's abode wherein he found supplies and, most fortuitously for him, a tunic and coif of chainmail that fit, not only that, it would help hide what he was from unsympathetic folk who would rather burn him to a crisp - the Frankenstein Syndrome one might say. He also found the iron bar that he uses as a weapon of choice at the present time, and a strange medallion, one made from some strange red metal, depicting a ghastly alien creature consuming itself. Most folk would find it extremely disturbing to look upon Secretly, in his heart of hearts, Kronk thinks that the creature depicted in the medallion created him. For quite some time, Kronk wandered the edges of civilized spaces trying to figure out how to fit in; he soon came to realize that he could make room for himself using the iron bar and his ferocious strength to make himself fit. People now rarely give him much grief and, surprisingly, seem to be rather polite around him.
Kronk is a bit taciturn, at first anyway. Once he has made anothers acquaintance, he is reserved; he doesn't think he is much of a conversationalist and, perhaps more important, doesn't feel he has anything to say - he is to new to the world. But, he is absolutely ferocious when in battle, whether it be defending a serving wench who is being mistreated or a companion. And he doesn't know the meaning of the phrase 'give up'. He also has a strange, almost visceral connection to 'un-living'? things, and aspect of he self that he has not yet been able to define precisely - an effect of the necromancers life force perhaps? Maybe there is a tinge of necromancy about him, undeveloped, definitely unexplored, that has yet to make itself clear.
As far as fear goes, it would seem that the imaginary psychologist is correct, Kronk has a fear of necromancers; so great in fact that, if he became aware of one, he would attack them immediately. Which brings us to why Kronk is journeying to Chult - he hear that there was a source of necromancy there and, in his very 'young' consciousness, has become convinced that the solution to all his problems (who he is, how he came to be and why) lies in those jungles.
Recently a warrior in Grahls tribe died in battle. The tribes shamans tried to revive the warrior but failed to do so. Troubled by this they held a ritual to consult with the dead ancestors of the tribe. This ritual took its toll on the shamans and seemed much more difficult then ever before. When finally consulting with the spirits of their ancestors they learned of a disturbance in the passing of the dead. When the shamans tried to end the ritual to allow the spirits to return to the afterlife this too was difficult. Something was keeping them in the mortal realm. Already having spent much energy casting the ritual the ending of it seemed even harder. Not all of the spirits could return before the elder shaman collapsed due to fatigue. With the power of the ritual the remaining spirits latched on to whatever they could. Grahl witnessed this ritual in horror and felt two of the spirits enter his body to seek a solid hold before being drawn away. Grahl started to get nightmares. Blinks into the past of battles he never fought. As a warrior himself he did not fear the battles but with the little pieces that he saw he only saw the death of himself. With the days passing Grahl often experienced thoughts in his head that seemed to be someone else's. Once he even saw his hand shift with an ethereal copy floating next to it. Troubled by these events he sought help with the shamans who were still busy trying to find out about the recent troubles.
The shamans learned about clues that led to Chult and some other places. Warriors of the tribe were sent to investigate. Grahl would be sent to Chult in hopes of finding a way to end this death curse and allow their dead to find their way to the afterlife once more.
(At level 3 i will go echo knight and manifest 1 of the two dead orc spirits as my copy (no change in mechanics just additional RP) both spirits will have different personalities. At much higher level i would be able to summon both as 2 echo's but thats very far away. Up to level 3 Grahl will learn more about the spirits as he feels them inside and learn how to control/unleash them at lvl 3.)
Reason for traveling to Chult - To try and find the source of the death curse and to allow the spirits of his tribe to go to the afterlife. Secondary goals: - Once Grahl learns to control/use the spirits that are now inside him (echo's) he will learn one of them died in Chult. He will have to reclaim an item that was lost here belonging to the spirit. We can work on what it is once chosen. - Grahls tribe is not as big as it used to be and he will want to find a new somewhat safer home for them if he can. A good area with room to expand and thrive. Perhaps by treaties with groups present on the island. - Grahl would like to gain favor of Ilneval the god of strategic warfare. This is more of an ongoing process and can be done by deeds in battle or with a test from his god at some point.
Character name - Tyxinto "Tyx" Applebrook (pronounced "Tikes")
Race/Class - Gnomish wizard.
Brief backstory - The Applebrooks are a large, proud gnomish family of Waterdhavian farmers and merchants of some renown. Tyxinto is the youngest of eight siblings, and while he fiercely loves his family, the life of meticulously counting coins, making shrewd investments, and hobnobbing with the elite is not for him. Instead, his deep and abiding fascination for knowledge in all its forms has been a driving passion from his earliest memories, when he was once told that a book about swordplay and adventure in the family library wasn't appropriate for young gnomes. Equal parts stubbornness, determination, and diligence have led him from those beginnings to become one of the academy's strongest students, and his parents have reluctantly dialed back their earlier skepticism, even if they're not quite sure what to make of their youngest son.
Reason for traveling to Chult - As a major port city, Tyxinto hopes to use the nexus of trade of Port Nyanzaru to establish Chult's first public library, where knowledge and understanding are available to everyone (perhaps with a small fee to defray curation costs). The death curse has offered a perfect and novel opportunity to study another curiosity. Yes, it's having tragic and devastating effects all across Faerun. But by studying it, perhaps those afflicted can learn from it and put an end to this suffering -- or even to harness this knowledge for a greater, as yet unknown purpose. At least, Tyxinto thinks it's worth this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. He's taking a sabbatical from his academy studies to understand things deeper, and has asked for a referral to a local wizard there who can steer him to those who are interested in exploring things further and begin establishing the local connections necessary to begin work on his collection. He carries a letter of introduction from the academy that he hopes will ease his transition upon arrival at Port Nyanzaru.
Personality - Tyxinto is a young, excitable gnome who lights up at the opportunity to discuss his studies with anyone who looks remotely interested (or who makes the mistake of feigning interest). While he is a kind soul at heart, he doesn't believe in property rights when it comes to knowledge, or the idea that certain knowledge should be secret or privileged. Frequently this view has gotten him into trouble; he sees nothing wrong with stealing a book from a library to make a copy and put it back the next day, for example.
Fear: Tyxinto is visibly uncomfortable around open flames that are near paper, documents, or books, and has an irrational fear of accidentally damaging or destroying his copious notes. He'll go to almost any lengths to protect them.
The talk of the streets and taverns has all been about the so-called death curse: a wasting disease afflicting everyone who’s ever been raised from the dead. Victims grow thinner and weaker each day, slowly but steadily sliding toward the death they once denied.
When they finally succumb, they can’t be raised—and neither can anyone else, regardless of whether they’ve ever received that miracle in the past. Temples and scholars of divine magic are at a loss to explain a curse that has affected the entire region, and possibly the entire world.
The cause is a necromantic artifact called the Soulmonger, which is located somewhere in Chult, a mysterious peninsula far to the south, ringed with mountains and choked with rainforests.
Hi all, I have been fascinated by this adventure since I learned of it and decided to try running it on here. As a DM, I promise at least a post per day, normally more, and I will work as much of your backstory into this campaign as I can since it is a long running one (level 1-15) so the more you give me the better. I'd like my players to also post once a day or warn us if you might not update for short bit, life happens. Any level of experience is welcome. If this sounds like a good fit for you, keep reading. I look forward to seeing your characters.
There are gonna be some homebrew rules for this that I think will both make it more difficult (I am running it as a meat grinder) and more interesting. The first is lingering injuries, when a PC goes down to 0 or fewer hit points, you'll make a constitution save and if you fail, you will gain a random injury until it is healed with an appropriate medicine check or sufficient level healing spell. Second, long rests are only gonna be gained when you rest in a safe location, a small camp in the jungle is not safe, this is to make random encounters in the jungle more interesting than just unload all your spells and then rest after, think of the jungle as a large dungeon - don't worry, there will be enough long rests to stay alive. Lastly, as suggested in the module for a harder campaign, death save DCs will be 15 instead of 10 due to the Soulmonger pulling you towards death.
I will also be running the start of the adventure a bit different than in the book, we will be starting on a ship bound for Chult from the Sword Coast. Each PC will be headed to the jungle for their own reasons. Feel free to either do your own research on Chult or send me a pm, I will work with you to come up with a hook for you to be headed into the jungle.
Character creation: We will be starting at level one. Any official content is okay, UA is a maybe but feel free to ask, no homebrew. Anything from a different setting can be used but make sure it fits Forgotten Realms. We will do stats once I pick players. I am asking for a bit of your character's personality, just give a general description of it. For the fear, it doesn't have to be something big, it might never come up, I just enjoy having some flaws like that for characters. I will say for rangers, lets use the Deft Explorer variant over Natural Explorer, means more dice rolling. If you have any questions about character creation, feel free to reach out to me.
To apply, please fill this out:
Character name -
Race/Class -
Brief backstory -
Reason for traveling to Chult -
Personality -
Fear -
I think this is everything, if I think of anything else or get a good question, I'll comment below on that. I'll keep this up until Sunday night, so take your time.
Character name: Xanthus
Race/class: Kenku monk
As a young hatchling, Xanthus was left outside of the House of the Purple Orchid. The monks took the kenku in and raised them with the other orphans that made their way into the monastery. The young bird proved to be a quick study, picking up the skills the monks taught him with minimal repetition. As a kenku, Xanthus of course, had trouble developing new techniques or methods for doing things, but, was good at imitating others. Xanthus spent a lot of time in the library, reading any book he could get his hands on. He found several books talking about kenku, detailing how they lost the ability to fly and ability to invent. This of course, bothered the young kenku. Why should he be punished for something one of his ancient ancestors did. After this, he spent a lot of time wondering if there was anything he might be able to do to get kenku back in the good graces of Grazz't (for in his reading, Xanthus felt that Grazz't was the one who cursed the kenku).
In one of the books, he came across a legend of a kenku who regained the ability to fly. The young monk had never considered the possibility that he might be able to do that. The kenku supposedly learned to fly on the peninsula of Chult. When he came of age, Xanthus asked the abbot if he could go on a mission to learn more about the world and more about other kenkus. He promised to return within two years of the date of his departure.
Personality: Curious and timid
Fear: heights
Name : Barkas Reedfellow
Race / Class : Hill Dwarf / Druid (Circle of Stars)
Backstory :
Barkas is a hill dwarf who wandered the world of as much as he could in search of signs. He keeps a rolled up map and star chart in his pocket, frequently taking notes on it, some legible, some are not, almost in his own language. He has always felt a strong bond with the earth and with animals, but even more so with the stars. He feels that they tell him a story, and guide him. He feels that there is a secret code there that he must unlock, that will lead him to his destiny. He feels a bond with other beings, animals and other races, and can connect with them, sometimes much better nonverbally rather than with crude words and formalities.
He is wearing a disheveled dirty set of leather armor, dirty messed up dark hair that doesn't seem to bother him. He carries a club that is sized right for him and a shield. He wears an odd cap on his head from the top of the skull of a wolf, a focus point of his energies.
Barkas feels drawn to Chult, he has the feeling that there is a great convergence of forces and that his skills will be needed. He feels compelled to go. He searched the skies each night on his way there, lying on his back, staring at the stars, trying to understand what this meant. His dreams are dominated by Muamman Duathal, commanding him to go there, but his form and instructions are so vague, ill-defined. When consulting his star charts, he uncovers mention of a lost city within Chult that he feels will be integral to awakening his stargazing and the power of the stars within his own body. There is a confluence of the lines on the chart and he feels that something powerful will happen there, an awakening. If asked , he will talk about this at length.
He walks into the port to board ship, looking like he has been many days on the road but used to it, with thick calluses on his feet. He has learned magic of his own, from nature, gaining in his skill. He ambles through the streets to see what rumors he can hear and taking notes, compelled also by curiosity, to the heart of the city. He is not as interested in the coin, as he is interested in the experience and what he feels to be his duty, aiming to end the curse on the land.
Personality : Odd, frequently consults his star map, an outdoorsy dwarf who has been in the woods perhaps a little too long.
Fear : A crowded room in which he must follow etiquette and all eyes are on him, a formal dinner in which he must hold his pinky just right drinking wine from a glass. And snakes. He just can’t abide them.
Barkas :
And his star chart / map, rolled up and carried with him wherever he goes :
A wizard is never late, nor is he early, he arrives precisely when he means to.
Character name - Robin Holdcrest
Race/Class - Custom Lineage / Artificer 1 (Going wizard from here out though.)
Brief backstory - See below
Reason for traveling to Chult - Her friend is from there and she is traveling with him to see this strange land of giant lizards he constantly speaks of.
Personality - Curious, direct, and a bit more on the serious side than easy-going.
Fear - Robin still has nightmares of the vanished city. She fears losing those she cares for to something beyond her power to do anything about.
This is not brief, as I am adapting the backstory from another game I play in with this same character, but here is the backstory...
Robin was born in her paren's home in Waterdeep. It was a dismal house, more shanty than actual home, cobbled together from whatever could be salvaged from the nearby city. It was located in the dock ward, with warehouses all around.
Robin's father worked for the Xanathar guild as a theif, enforcer, whatever was needed. He was just starting out when she was young, but has worked his way up in the organization over the years. He is infamous now among those in the know, and well-respected in the thieve's guild of Waterdeep.
Robin's mother is a painter and has passed that trait on to another of Robin's siblings, her elder sister Austin. While Senna, Robin's mother, has never managed to make a name for herself with her paintings, Austin has done so quite nicely.
Robin has a total of eleven siblings, 5 brothers and 6 sisters. They range in jobs around the city, with one of her sisters in politics another in the Thieve's guild with her father. One is an infamous merchant in town, since he often works with the Boromar Clan, selling stolen goods. He has a shop in The market. One of her less-known brothers is a priest of The Shadow, though he and Robin get along well enough.
Robin was always tinkering or reading as a child, and enjoyed taking things apart and putting them back together. Her father, never to let something go unused, apprenticed her to a sage at the library in Waterdeep. Robin worked there for several years, enjoying the time as much as she could, reading when allowed, and having access to a large amount of both time and books. She found she liked the power of words, and writing, and became adept at bringing forth power with her writing.
That all changed when, without warning, Robin was marched out of the university one day. She was not allowed to go home, not allowed to find her family, just forced out of the university. She was taken into a small room, where she was made to wait, then, with no one answering her questions, taken from the city. Only once away from the city was she allowed to send word back to her family. She recieved a letter back, from her father, saying she was to stay away, as there were rumors of some strange goings on with Robin's Sage master. he would contact her when he knew more.
Robin traveled to Elturel and lived there, earning some coin with her researching ability, as well as the tinkering she was able to do. it was not as nice of a life, or as rewarding, as her time at the university. Eventually word came that the man she had apprenticed to at the university had been found guilty of high treason, and exicuted. Robin's family let her know she was ok to return to Waterdeep. Before she could do so though, Elturel disappeared.
Robin had been outside of the city, gathering supplies, so had not been there when the city vanished. The sight of the empty crater, where they city once had been, will haunt her dreams all the days of her life. She knew there was nothing she could do here, so she fled to Baldur's Gate.
As she fled she came across an injured man. Quickly using her magic, she healed the worst of his wounds, then pulled him with her, away from the fiends that were now hunting the lands around the missing city. She had to force the man to keep going, as his wounds were bad enough that, even with her healing, he was barely on his feet. They made it, Robin still does not know how, but they managed to keep just ahead of those fiends, and reach safety in the end. Aaenil, the human barbarian, has been a stalwart companion to her ever since.
Aaenil, Robin learned, was from Chult. The two of them traveled back to Waterdeep, to make sure Robin's family was doing well, but they did not stay there. Instead they returned to Baldur's Gate, and, from there, took a boat to Chult. Aaenil wished to return to his home, and Robin wished to see this strange land of huge lizards the man spoke of constantly.
Character Name: Abomwe Tekilli
Race: "Hill Dwarf', one of the Dur Authalar or Jungle Dwarves of Chult
Class: Fighter
Background: Folk Hero.
Native to the deep forests of Chult she often serves as a guide to outsiders when not leading raids against the Batiri goblins. She finds non-Chultans strange folk but endearing in their own way and enjoys their company as long as they respect her and the jungle.
She left her homeland recently on the trail of one of the outsiders who had stolen an artifact from her people, with him dead and the artifaact in her keeping she is sailing home on this stinking wooden death-trap and hoping to touch land again.
Personality- Reserved and no nonsense but with a fierce loyalty to those she finds worthy.
Fear- Failing her people or those she calls friends.
Character name - Herlien Leadvein
Race/Class/Background - Deep Gnome / Artificer (Full Battle Smith for now) / Faction Agent
Reason for traveling to Chult - She is looking to recover a certain relic or text on behalf of The Lord's Alliance. Also do research and stop anything threatening the mainland. Get her father's favor back doing amazing deeds
Personality - Herlien seems a bit of a ditz on the surface, but in truth she is actually fairly bright in certain areas. She is empathetic, shy, silly, but also has a strict dedication to The Lord's Alliance, her allies, and the mission she has at-hand.
Fear - Her father never forgiving her/Letting people down
Brief backstory - Herlien was born on a boat as her two deep gnome parents were escaping from the North after their home in the Underdark was taken. On their travels to find a new home, Herlien's mother was abducted in the night by an unknown force; she never met her mother. Her father traveled desperate with his daughter and located Citadel Felbarr. The two gnomes were accepted by the dwarves. They were both very poor, working as simple cobblers and boot-shiners, but they got by. When Citadel Felbarr was attacked by the orcs, Herlien brought shame to her name when she fell asleep during her watch after drinking too much and allowed orcs to do a lot of damage. Her father, furious, did not wish to see her after such a shameful event that did a lot of damage for the dwarves who were kind enough to accept them.
Herlien fled, ashamed and heartbroken, to the nearby city of Silverymoon where she continued her cobbling services. She soon came across another gnome, who took her in and taught her to expand more upon her skills in cobbling, to dabble into being an artificer. Soon, a romance blossomed between these two gnomes. As Herlien's abilities grew, she was invited into The Lord's Alliance by her newfound love, Lorilla Pilwicken, who was working under them as a laborer and tinkerer. With a new purpose in her life, Herlien wishes to prove herself in The Lord's Alliance, proving herself to be reliable and hopefully earning the approval of her father and the dwarves of Citadel Felbarr once more.
Character name: Yasheira Tombseeker
Race: Half-elf
Class: Warlock (Undying)
Brief backstory: Yasheira was something as unusual as a half-elf from Calimport, her human mother a barmaid that died when Yasheira was very young, a victim of an outbreak of plague in the city, and her father presumably a visiting elven adventurer. Yasheira took care of herself in the streets of Calimport for some years before being forced to join the Tomb Seekers, a group of crypt plundering scoundrels led by the ruthless Aseir Basha. For several years Yasheira helped the Tomb Seekers by going into places the other members wouldn't fit, making her a valuable member of the group. In time the Tomb Seekers became the family Yasheira never had, Aseir being a sort of father to her. Recently the Tomb Seekers entered a long forgotten tomb in the Calimshan desert, dating back to the Shoon empire. The tomb was particularly deadly and after accidentally awakening an immensely powerful lich only Yasheira was still alive.
Reason for traveling to Chult: The lich let Yasheira leave his tomb on condition that she was to be his agent in the world outside, her first mission being to find a powerful necromantic artifact supposedly hidden somewhere in the jungles of Chult. Yasheira is now on a ship bound for Chult where fantastic adventures awaits her.
Personality: Yasheira is dangerously curious, which often gets her into trouble. She is also very social and attention seeking, looking for a new family, even in the form of an adventuring party.
Fear: To be lonely.
(Withdrawn)
Name: Mica
Race/Class: Earth Genasi/Ranger
Brief backstory - Mica was born and raised in the tough lands of the Savage Frontier in Faerun. The youngest son of a large Illuskan logging family, he felt drawn to the wilds at a young age. As he grew older, his cruel Dao heritage began to manifest itself through changes in his appearance and a strange, subtle magical connection. The genie bloodline is viewed as a gift by some and a curse by many, but no one knew from whence it came in Mica’s case. His parents, who did not have the Dao blood, shunned him as a reminder of some embarrassing or horrifying deed in the family's past. Others viewed him as different or strange and he had few companions growing up, which suited him as he always felt more comfortable around animals. Unwelcome by family and friends, and drawn by a sense of wanderlust, he left his family and wandered the wilderness. Tapping into his connection to the earth his bloodline provides, he taught himself the ways of a ranger and hunter and wandered the Savage Frontier, protecting those that cast him out from the threats of the wild. He usually avoided the main cities, but while in Yartar trading supplies, he encountered a merchant with strange bones and skins, spreading the legends of Chult. He desired to find out more, and started that day on a long journey that led him to this cursed ship. He regrets the day he sat foot on board and spends his time staring at the horizon, looking longingly for land.
Reason for traveling to Chult - Mica has heard the tales of great beasts lurking in the jungles of Chult, and has seen some of the skulls and exotic skins others have sent back in his travels. Curious, he set sail for the distant shores to find, and hunt, some of these monsters himself.
Personality - He is calm and thoughtful, and doesn’t display many wide swings of emotions. He is patient and uncomplaining, and very tolerant of pain and discomfort. Slow to anger, but violent when provoked. Protective of those that are in need, even if he is outside their circle.
Fear -
large, bustling crowds or mobs of people. He is also self-conscious of being touched by others, especially unasked, due to the condition and feel of his skin.
Character name - Karrul Stoneswinger
Race/Class - Hill Dwarf Barbarian (or maybe fighter)
Brief backstory - Karrul works for the R&S Mercantile Co., which spans a good chunk of western Faerun. R&S makes most of their money by exploiting natural resources and shipping them back to the HQ in Baldur's Gate, where they sell to artisans. Karrul works in the DR (Dwarven Relations) department, where he's middle management. His job is to combat inefficiency within the ranks of the employees who do the gathering; that is to say, whenever an employee complains about work hours, inadequate food, pay, etc., Karrul's job is to relate his fist to their face until morale improves. And morale always improves when Karrul is on the job.
Reason for traveling to Chult - A logging branch of the R&S Mercantile Co. is a month overdue on its shipment. The company expects a strike due to the harsh working conditions. Karrul has been sent to get that shipment and get the employees working again.
Personality - Gruff and unlikable, but reliable. Karrul has a bad temper, but can be downright friendly when he isn't at work. He learned the importance of duty and respect of authority in the military, and that training has engrained itself in his personality. He doesn't like people who question orders and he certainly doesn't like people who think they know better than their superior officer.
Fear - Spiders and swamps
Character name: Arthur 'Art' Fisher
Race/Class: Half-Wood Elf Warlock (The Fathomless)
Brief backstory: Arthur's life was one that centred around hard work, but within a loving family. He learned a love of the woods from his mother, but his heart lies with the sea, and salt water flows through his veins. His main role was as crew on his father's boat, and in mending the nets and preparing the fish caught when he wasn't sailing. He grew to love everything about the sea - her fickle nature, the breathtaking beauty, the exhilaration of sailing before a stiff breeze.
On his final trip out he was sailing with his father again, when they were caught by an unexpected squall, and it took all their skill and strength to bring the boat around to flee before the wind. Suddenly a flash of lightning and all went dark.
The Event…
The darkness of unconsciousness gradually changed to the darkness of deep places, the pressure, and the almost liquid silence of a dark draped like velvet across his senses. Then the voice came, within his mind. 'It has been long years since one of you came into my domain. It has been longer still since I sensed the colour and sounds of the surface world. If you carry my awareness within you for a time, I shall give you a portion of my strength, to see you back safe to the world above.'
Agreements made, there was a flash of pain on Arthur's right bicep, and then darkness again, until he was seen floating in the sea by a lookout on a boat bound for Chult...
(This is all he currently recalls - more may come later...)
Reason for traveling to Chult: After his unplanned meeting with Tehano, and rescue, Art has worked his passage in gratitude for his rescue, but also to keep his mind from the ramifications of what has happened to him. Unbeknownst to him, he will be asked to explore the forests on behalf of his patron, who has only ever known the seas...
Personality: Art is a natural optimist, hard working and grounded - the sea teaches patience. His recent experiences, and worry about his father, have subdued his natural good cheer somewhat for now.
Fear: Not seeing his family again, and a gnawing fear that his father is lost to the deeps...
Character name - Avon
Race/Class - Assimar/Monk,1 (going to multiclass wizard)
Brief backstory - Avon was raised by a loving father named Vanros who adopted him when he saw Avon on the streets. Avon left his family to see the world. Ever since he went to Phandalin, something-or someone has been haunting him and Avon wants to find out what or who is. In Phandalin, he saw a very peculiar monastery that he explored. He was intrigued by the monks and started learning.
Reason for traveling to Chult - Avon heard that a source of necromancy was coming from Chult. Not being a wizard and knowing nearly nothing about the arcane arts, Avon went to Chult hoping that he might learn some magic as he thought that magic would be a great way to better himself
Secondary goals - Avon would like to find out who his mother and father are
- Avon would like to learn magic (path of the four elements)
-Avon would like to explore the world, starting with Chult
Personality - Easygoing and kind. Avon is friendly, and childish, playing and messing around.
Fear - Heights
Avon - D&D Beyond (dndbeyond.com) (I can reroll or redo the stats)
Character name - Nelyna Ravenguard
Race/Class - High Elf Wizard Sage (Wizard's Apprentice)
Brief backstory - Having an aptitude for wizardly studies from a young age, Nelyna's family gladly gave her to the wizard Neralmo to be his ward and apprentice. She hasn't seen her family in years and service to Neralmo and the study of magic has been all she's really known. Neralmo has been known to take an interest in magical artifacts, curses, and the like, but instead of doing the dirty work himself, he prefers to send his apprentices out on expeditions. Nelyna prides herself on being his most prized apprentice so she usually gets the most exciting, and the most rewarding, jobs.
It was during one such job, though, that everything went awry, and Nelyna's career as a wizard, and her life, were nearly cut short. She and a small group of fellow adventurers had traveled to the tomb of a renowned wizard, searching for his amulet, which was said to have magnificent powers. The tomb was full of undead, but they proved to be short work for Nelyna and her companions. The amulet lay in the tomb's central chamber, inside the sarcophagus of the great wizard, Tharandur. It wasn't until they breached the sarcophagus' seal to retrieve the amulet that everything quickly turned to chaos. Tharandur was a powerful and dangerous lich! Nelyna barely escaped the tomb with her life. Both of her companions were slaughtered, and she was unable to retrieve the amulet. Returning to her master in disgrace, Neralmo expressed his disappointment with her but ensured that she would be able to get back in his good graces if she were to solve the mystery illness plaguing Chult...
Reason for traveling to Chult - Nelyna's master, the great wizard Neralmo, has charged her with investigating rumors of a strange disease spreading across the isle. Nelyna is to determine the source of such a disease and if it be magical in nature report back to her master for further instructions. However, Nelyna has been known to follow the spirit, rather than the exact letter, of her master's orders.
Personality - Nelyna is a kind, softspoken scholar who wears her heart on her sleeve. Having more experience in libraries and wizard's towers, she can be shy and socially awkward. When she is able to open up to others and make friends, however, they will find her a dedicated and loyal companion. She is constantly seeking to improve herself and believes one can never stop learning.
Fear - She has a deep-seated fear of failure that can often paralyze her in moments where great decisions need to be made.
Extended Signature
Characters: Bryony Alderleaf (Phandelver and Below) ♦ Vesta Trevelyan (Vecna: Eve of Ruin) ♦ Ada Kendrick (Curse of Strahd) ♦ Gareth Blackwood (Dragon of Icespire Peak) ♦ Karys Velthune (Out of the Abyss) ♦ Surina Xarith (Simple, Heroic Adventure)
DM: Baldur's Gate: Descent Into Avernus
Character name - Cordelia 'Redeemer' Onc
Race/Class - Tiefling/Cleric(Tempest Domain)
Brief backstory - (Acolyte) Cordelia was raised in a small temple with her mother who had become a lay follower to Bahumut after a Paladin of the platinum dragon saved them from a group of bandits that had killed her father. From a young age she was taught the ways of the dragon God, learning to have a strong sense of justice and to bring peace even if force had to be used. As she grew into adulthood she took up the life of a traveling cleric, going up and down the sword coast to help where she could.
Reason for traveling to Chult - During her morning prayers one day, her mind was filled with visions of Chult and something gently compelled her to begin traveling there. She did not know why bit felt that there was a great evil or the like to confront it.
Personality - Cordelia is the type of person that would give someone the shirt off of her back and more if it would help them. She is a very sheltered person due her upbringing, not quite sure about the ways of the world and how things actually are. Despite this she has a strong sense of justice and does not put up with any injustice she sees. She does have a bit of trouble with this though as she can see that some people do seemingly bad things for good reasons. Over all though she is a friendly person and likes to meet new people and help them if she can. She is a bit gullible though and can be tricked at times.
Fear - Her biggest fear is failing her God as she feels like she was chosen to go to Chult. Other then that she is afraid of failing to protect others.
Character name - Lassityr "Squirrel Assassin"
Race/Class - Tabaxi Fighter (Eldritch Knight)
Brief backstory - Lassityr a.k.a. Squirrel Assassin grew up in the city of Baldur's Gate. Adopted by two loving parents when he was a cub, Lassityr learned a little bit about magic from his mother Cagney, but he also took up soldier training from his other mother Lacei, a member of the Flaming Fists. As a rookie officer, Lassityr helped stop a burglary ring headed by a group of druids who shifted into squirrel forms when committing their crimes. Lassityr stopped the leader and was made a hero. Sometime later, Lassityr saw a squirrel antagonizing Cagney outside of their home. Lassityr wounded the squirrel, who was actually a druid and the son of a noblewoman. This caused Lassityr to lose his badge and the city game him the moniker "Squirrel Assassin."
Reason for traveling to Chult - With no job, Lassityr began wondering about his roots. Lacei managed to track information about his birth parents supposedly being alive in Chult. Lassityr kissed his mothers goodbye and left for Chult.
Personality - Lassityr has an ear for mysteries, especially if they involve crime. He loves discovering clues and catching bad guys. He also loves his rapier and crossbow, referring to them as his "babies." He's a team player, though he isn't above having an ego.
Fear - His fear is that his parents are alive and he has to face them. Like many adopted kids, Lassityr has questions, one being "why did you abandon me?" He's worried that he'll just blow up at them for leaving him. There's also a small part of him that's worried he'll love his biological parents and abandon his mothers back in Baldur's Gate.
I have an intelligence of six, I know what I'm doing.
Character name - Berus Zaawarden
Race/Class - Human Variant (Yuan-Ti or dragconic hertiage)/Ranger
Brief backstory/Reason for traveling to Chult -Berus is a guide for hire along with her father. On a routine job a group who hired them killed her father and abducted her to sell into slavery. Berus was able to escape but her captures she found out were from Chult. She hunts them now to avenge her father's death and her own captivity.
Personality - Berus is private, slow to trust, and a ferocious emeny. She is also naturally inquisitive to a fault and noble.
Fear - To never give her father honor by avenging his death!
Sometimes a Nat 1 tells a better story than a Nat 20 ever could.
Kronk
Abomination. Treated like an Half-Orc as far as mechanics go, his actual appearance is more for adding 'color' to the game.
Kronk is an abomination, there is no other word for it. It seems a rather insane Necromancer was experimenting with mashing together different corpses and body parts. In one experiment, his last, unfortunately for him (or maybe not), he was working with the corpse of an halfling and a corpse of an ogre (one of which might have been the original Kronk, who ever that was, but that would be really stretching it.) Needless to say he was working 'discretely,' for fear of persecution you see, out in the middle of nowhere in a very secluded wood. As it happened a thunder and lightening storm sprang up out of nowhere, putting him into a pretty foul mood; but the upshot was dramatic to say the least. Just as he cast the final parts of the spell he was struck by one fork of a bolt of lightening, the other one struck the halfling/ogre meat he was working on. It appears to have killed the necromancer but at the same time transferred his life force into the mess he was ensorcelling, causing it to animate into the being that calls itself Kronk. By-the-by, for some reason unknown to himself, Kronk HATES necromancers (any good psychologist would say that Kronk is afraid of necromancers, but psychologists haven't been invented yet). He has no memory of what happened, just remembers coming to in a storm next to a rather crispy corpse and the brutal struggle to find a place in the world that followed. Kronk has a rather strange affinity for dead things, not anything really corrupt or depraved, but he thinks that they talk to him and that he can sometimes talk to them. He has no fear in that regard. I class Kronk as a half-orc, but he is not really, as stated he is a monstrosity, with a rather intense charisma for such a creature. He thinks that lightening gives him powers, just what kind, well it could be that he is just delusional, but who knows, there are stranger things running around. When he became aware of his surroundings the first time he was very confused, no thoughts entered his head as to what had happened or what was going on. Stumbling around in the woods he came upon the necromancer's abode wherein he found supplies and, most fortuitously for him, a tunic and coif of chainmail that fit, not only that, it would help hide what he was from unsympathetic folk who would rather burn him to a crisp - the Frankenstein Syndrome one might say. He also found the iron bar that he uses as a weapon of choice at the present time, and a strange medallion, one made from some strange red metal, depicting a ghastly alien creature consuming itself. Most folk would find it extremely disturbing to look upon Secretly, in his heart of hearts, Kronk thinks that the creature depicted in the medallion created him. For quite some time, Kronk wandered the edges of civilized spaces trying to figure out how to fit in; he soon came to realize that he could make room for himself using the iron bar and his ferocious strength to make himself fit. People now rarely give him much grief and, surprisingly, seem to be rather polite around him.
Kronk is a bit taciturn, at first anyway. Once he has made anothers acquaintance, he is reserved; he doesn't think he is much of a conversationalist and, perhaps more important, doesn't feel he has anything to say - he is to new to the world. But, he is absolutely ferocious when in battle, whether it be defending a serving wench who is being mistreated or a companion. And he doesn't know the meaning of the phrase 'give up'. He also has a strange, almost visceral connection to 'un-living'? things, and aspect of he self that he has not yet been able to define precisely - an effect of the necromancers life force perhaps? Maybe there is a tinge of necromancy about him, undeveloped, definitely unexplored, that has yet to make itself clear.
As far as fear goes, it would seem that the imaginary psychologist is correct, Kronk has a fear of necromancers; so great in fact that, if he became aware of one, he would attack them immediately. Which brings us to why Kronk is journeying to Chult - he hear that there was a source of necromancy there and, in his very 'young' consciousness, has become convinced that the solution to all his problems (who he is, how he came to be and why) lies in those jungles.
Panic is a mechanism that strengthens the gene pool.
Character name - Grahl
Race/Class - Half Orc/Fighter (going echo knight)
Brief backstory -
Recently a warrior in Grahls tribe died in battle. The tribes shamans tried to revive the warrior but failed to do so. Troubled by this they held a ritual to consult with the dead ancestors of the tribe. This ritual took its toll on the shamans and seemed much more difficult then ever before. When finally consulting with the spirits of their ancestors they learned of a disturbance in the passing of the dead. When the shamans tried to end the ritual to allow the spirits to return to the afterlife this too was difficult. Something was keeping them in the mortal realm. Already having spent much energy casting the ritual the ending of it seemed even harder. Not all of the spirits could return before the elder shaman collapsed due to fatigue. With the power of the ritual the remaining spirits latched on to whatever they could.
Grahl witnessed this ritual in horror and felt two of the spirits enter his body to seek a solid hold before being drawn away. Grahl started to get nightmares. Blinks into the past of battles he never fought. As a warrior himself he did not fear the battles but with the little pieces that he saw he only saw the death of himself.
With the days passing Grahl often experienced thoughts in his head that seemed to be someone else's. Once he even saw his hand shift with an ethereal copy floating next to it. Troubled by these events he sought help with the shamans who were still busy trying to find out about the recent troubles.
The shamans learned about clues that led to Chult and some other places. Warriors of the tribe were sent to investigate. Grahl would be sent to Chult in hopes of finding a way to end this death curse and allow their dead to find their way to the afterlife once more.
(At level 3 i will go echo knight and manifest 1 of the two dead orc spirits as my copy (no change in mechanics just additional RP) both spirits will have different personalities. At much higher level i would be able to summon both as 2 echo's but thats very far away. Up to level 3 Grahl will learn more about the spirits as he feels them inside and learn how to control/unleash them at lvl 3.)
Reason for traveling to Chult - To try and find the source of the death curse and to allow the spirits of his tribe to go to the afterlife.
Secondary goals:
- Once Grahl learns to control/use the spirits that are now inside him (echo's) he will learn one of them died in Chult. He will have to reclaim an item that was lost here belonging to the spirit. We can work on what it is once chosen.
- Grahls tribe is not as big as it used to be and he will want to find a new somewhat safer home for them if he can. A good area with room to expand and thrive. Perhaps by treaties with groups present on the island.
- Grahl would like to gain favor of Ilneval the god of strategic warfare. This is more of an ongoing process and can be done by deeds in battle or with a test from his god at some point.
Personality - Honest, Stubborn, Brave/foolish.
Fear - Spiders (due to a near death experience)
Character name - Tyxinto "Tyx" Applebrook (pronounced "Tikes")
Race/Class - Gnomish wizard.
Brief backstory - The Applebrooks are a large, proud gnomish family of Waterdhavian farmers and merchants of some renown. Tyxinto is the youngest of eight siblings, and while he fiercely loves his family, the life of meticulously counting coins, making shrewd investments, and hobnobbing with the elite is not for him. Instead, his deep and abiding fascination for knowledge in all its forms has been a driving passion from his earliest memories, when he was once told that a book about swordplay and adventure in the family library wasn't appropriate for young gnomes. Equal parts stubbornness, determination, and diligence have led him from those beginnings to become one of the academy's strongest students, and his parents have reluctantly dialed back their earlier skepticism, even if they're not quite sure what to make of their youngest son.
Reason for traveling to Chult - As a major port city, Tyxinto hopes to use the nexus of trade of Port Nyanzaru to establish Chult's first public library, where knowledge and understanding are available to everyone (perhaps with a small fee to defray curation costs). The death curse has offered a perfect and novel opportunity to study another curiosity. Yes, it's having tragic and devastating effects all across Faerun. But by studying it, perhaps those afflicted can learn from it and put an end to this suffering -- or even to harness this knowledge for a greater, as yet unknown purpose. At least, Tyxinto thinks it's worth this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. He's taking a sabbatical from his academy studies to understand things deeper, and has asked for a referral to a local wizard there who can steer him to those who are interested in exploring things further and begin establishing the local connections necessary to begin work on his collection. He carries a letter of introduction from the academy that he hopes will ease his transition upon arrival at Port Nyanzaru.
Personality - Tyxinto is a young, excitable gnome who lights up at the opportunity to discuss his studies with anyone who looks remotely interested (or who makes the mistake of feigning interest). While he is a kind soul at heart, he doesn't believe in property rights when it comes to knowledge, or the idea that certain knowledge should be secret or privileged. Frequently this view has gotten him into trouble; he sees nothing wrong with stealing a book from a library to make a copy and put it back the next day, for example.
Fear: Tyxinto is visibly uncomfortable around open flames that are near paper, documents, or books, and has an irrational fear of accidentally damaging or destroying his copious notes. He'll go to almost any lengths to protect them.