Once upon a time there was a Gith Warlock named Rhyss Lythandor.
He had ventured through many different worlds and planes before coming upon the world upon which Rothenel was located.
Rothenel was a wood elven kingdom known for its prodigious and ancient forests.
Theye were one of many such kingdoms on this world and the races were both quite varied and often quite volatile with each other, into this melting pot came the youthtful Gith who through his journeys had gathered various relics, artefacts and followers such that he had them prepare for his arrival.
Such was the force he had gathered that many of the nations well what could be called such either allied with him or mostly fell before him to be either enslaved or slain outright many of these were sacrificed to support the rituals he planned to cast.
The last nation was Rothenel whose people mostly fled back into the Feywild their natural birthplace, but some stayed as many had been captured, slain, enslaved or turned by Rhyss and his followers.
In a wicked and horrific ceremony Rhyss succeeded in binding a Lantern Archon to a reliquary that would later be called the Orb of Resolve forever unable to die nor banished back to their own plane of existance forced into a state inbetween life and death that Rhyss believed would eventually enslave it to his will.
This was the last artefact he had created over the decades since he began his quest for godhood and donning the artefacts that make up his Regalia of Chaos he needed only to make one last sacrifice to complete the process and then his way was clear.
Alas the one weakness one he himself couldn't comprehend was the unexpected love he felt for one of the two elven maidens captured to serve as this sacrifice he chose the younger sibling planning on claiming the other that he loved as his eventual bride.
But the maiden caught them by surprise for when he plunged the dagger intended to seal the sacrifice she bloakced the blow with her own body dying instead of her younger sister.
The process worked his first act was to create the Divine Gates sealing away the gods who only now recognised the threat he posed, but his second act the one that would grant him godhood he delayed as he realised who he had actually sacrificed.
So shocked he didn't feel the maiden's sister cut free the Orb he had tied to his wrist and fled the dias and despite being hit by a number of thrown weapons and spells she fell through the nearest mirror which had served to deliver the pair from the place in Rothenel they had been captured from.
Still unable to comprehend what had gone wrong his lieutenants recognising their Master was defenceless fell upon him killing him and stripping him of the Regalia wach one claiming a piece before fleeing as none had the forces available to claim the other artefacts not that stopped them afterwards!
The Cape of Commanding and the Sceptre of Domination fell into the hands of the Orcs who have done their best to keep them there using them now and again as the use of one allows them to command members of the same race, whilst the sceptre could literally paralyse any members of one races unless both were used by the same wielder then they could paralyse anyone within a certain range but if not careful the victim would recover and be left immune for a short while afterwards.
The Bracers of Health was claimed by the dwarves who in their spite cursed their artefact often causing the wearer to become dwarvish if they wasn't originally and has been stolen so often that its considered the weakest artefact so much so that the various times a certain elf recovered it she immediately returned it to th dwarves making their temper that much worse!
The Crown of Rulership is the most evil possessing the strongest part of the foul ritual Rhyss cast and fell into the hands of the various humanoids races all of whom chose to dump this foul artefact on a distant island until some very foolish wizards brought it back to their guildhall in Rothenel.
This artefact was directly responsible for the Tiefling Wars, when a lowly apprentice wizard was tricked into donning the crown and began a campaign that last almost ten years until the bearer of the Orb stripped him of his crown and fled with it back into the Shadowfell dumping it somewhere it has remained lost until recently.
Then there was the Bracers and Torc of Rhyss Lythandor his phylactery each bearing enouhg of his essence to possess the wearer but needed both to allow him to properly regain physical form these were overlooked in his lieutenants rush to replace their master but they were eventually recovered but never together until some unwary Cultist recognising there was a link between them had them shipped back for his order to check thoroughly.
Finally the Orb of Resolve a figuring of wondrous power in the form of a gem-like reliquary that allows the bearer to summon a Lantern Archon.
That Archon the result of that elven maiden and trapped essence of Lantern Archon created the Fey Celestial and Vestigial Goddess of moonlight known as Kestra some cruelly call her the Goddess of a Moonbeam instead given her limited power.
Kept safe within an abandoned temple to Sehanine Moonbow she fell into the hands of her reborn sister who brought it out to help vanquish the Tiefling Warlock so had been called the wizard's apprentice enslaved to the Crown.
The crown is now held by Vecna who is bitterly trying to free itself recognising the crown is far too powerful for it (it would be a century later before he becomes the power that threatened Tal'Dorei and Vox Machina as of this moment he hasn't reached that pinnacle.
The Belt remains with the dwarves, the Sceptre with the Orcs, the Torc and bracers are held by the Cult of the strife Emperor but thats only until someone follishly dons either of those artefacts.
The cape is currently worn by the half elven shadow sorceror Lucien who has no idea of the horror granting him his mystical powers and the Orb was held by a surviving Dawnfather Acolyte before the grandchild of the Orb Bearer who gave it to him for safekeeping took it back along with his father's sword in an effort to contact his patron deity and in the process Rothenel was shunted back into the Domain of Shadow it had escaped from when the Orb Bearer's first life she had carried the Orb to safety within Rothenel casting Rhyss and his island stronghold into the Domain they now find themselves stuck within.
Dark Lord Connection: Rhyss wants more than anything to live again and to reunite with the beloved he killed by accident for that to happen the surviving heirs of Clan Rothenel must NOT be slain if he is to meet his reincarnated love. Who as an elf is doomed to reincarnate so it is only a matter of time before she returns.
Secret: His beloved was fused with the Lantern Archon becoming Kestra and as such he has no idea his beloved has become the deity he set out to become instead of him.
Dark Lord Interactions: Will possess whoever dons either the Torc or the Bracers, but requires both to be worn to be able to properly possess the host so he is quite limited in what he can do whilst bodiless and only one of these two artefacts are in use. He will usually focus on getting their bearers to go after the other in an effort to claim the full power unaware of the true nature of these artefacts.
The Crown of Rulership: First it needs to free itself of Vecna a feeling the lich thoroughly agrees with as neither can overwhelm the other and find a replacement host now Rothenel has returned to the Domain of Shadow its hiding place has been revealed and its only a matter of time before some fool frees Vecna and it finds a replacement host, if it can reach whoever bears either torc or bracer it can control Rhyss unless he can locate and acquire the other artefacts.
Unlike anybody else Rhyss knows the Crown is too powerful even for him and will avoid the Crown and its current host until he can secure the other artefacts without them the only artefact that can counter the Crown's power is the Orb of Resolve as that is its specific purpose.
Sorry for the longwinded stuff here is my question does this serve as a good Domain of Dread and if not is there any tips you can provide that I can use to improve this?
Many thanks in advance and Vince, Ian and Paul no peeking!
I know by this point its too late, but you should have answered your emails and Ian this is why you can't co-opt someone else's campaign setting when its already established one of the player characters was banished from another world!
The Domain of Shadow:
Once upon a time there was a Gith Warlock named Rhyss Lythandor.
He had ventured through many different worlds and planes before coming upon the world upon which Rothenel was located.
Rothenel was a wood elven kingdom known for its prodigious and ancient forests.
Theye were one of many such kingdoms on this world and the races were both quite varied and often quite volatile with each other, into this melting pot came the youthtful Gith who through his journeys had gathered various relics, artefacts and followers such that he had them prepare for his arrival.
Such was the force he had gathered that many of the nations well what could be called such either allied with him or mostly fell before him to be either enslaved or slain outright many of these were sacrificed to support the rituals he planned to cast.
The last nation was Rothenel whose people mostly fled back into the Feywild their natural birthplace, but some stayed as many had been captured, slain, enslaved or turned by Rhyss and his followers.
In a wicked and horrific ceremony Rhyss succeeded in binding a Lantern Archon to a reliquary that would later be called the Orb of Resolve forever unable to die nor banished back to their own plane of existance forced into a state inbetween life and death that Rhyss believed would eventually enslave it to his will.
This was the last artefact he had created over the decades since he began his quest for godhood and donning the artefacts that make up his Regalia of Chaos he needed only to make one last sacrifice to complete the process and then his way was clear.
Alas the one weakness one he himself couldn't comprehend was the unexpected love he felt for one of the two elven maidens captured to serve as this sacrifice he chose the younger sibling planning on claiming the other that he loved as his eventual bride.
But the maiden caught them by surprise for when he plunged the dagger intended to seal the sacrifice she bloakced the blow with her own body dying instead of her younger sister.
The process worked his first act was to create the Divine Gates sealing away the gods who only now recognised the threat he posed, but his second act the one that would grant him godhood he delayed as he realised who he had actually sacrificed.
So shocked he didn't feel the maiden's sister cut free the Orb he had tied to his wrist and fled the dias and despite being hit by a number of thrown weapons and spells she fell through the nearest mirror which had served to deliver the pair from the place in Rothenel they had been captured from.
Still unable to comprehend what had gone wrong his lieutenants recognising their Master was defenceless fell upon him killing him and stripping him of the Regalia wach one claiming a piece before fleeing as none had the forces available to claim the other artefacts not that stopped them afterwards!
The Cape of Commanding and the Sceptre of Domination fell into the hands of the Orcs who have done their best to keep them there using them now and again as the use of one allows them to command members of the same race, whilst the sceptre could literally paralyse any members of one races unless both were used by the same wielder then they could paralyse anyone within a certain range but if not careful the victim would recover and be left immune for a short while afterwards.
The Bracers of Health was claimed by the dwarves who in their spite cursed their artefact often causing the wearer to become dwarvish if they wasn't originally and has been stolen so often that its considered the weakest artefact so much so that the various times a certain elf recovered it she immediately returned it to th dwarves making their temper that much worse!
The Crown of Rulership is the most evil possessing the strongest part of the foul ritual Rhyss cast and fell into the hands of the various humanoids races all of whom chose to dump this foul artefact on a distant island until some very foolish wizards brought it back to their guildhall in Rothenel.
This artefact was directly responsible for the Tiefling Wars, when a lowly apprentice wizard was tricked into donning the crown and began a campaign that last almost ten years until the bearer of the Orb stripped him of his crown and fled with it back into the Shadowfell dumping it somewhere it has remained lost until recently.
Then there was the Bracers and Torc of Rhyss Lythandor his phylactery each bearing enouhg of his essence to possess the wearer but needed both to allow him to properly regain physical form these were overlooked in his lieutenants rush to replace their master but they were eventually recovered but never together until some unwary Cultist recognising there was a link between them had them shipped back for his order to check thoroughly.
Finally the Orb of Resolve a figuring of wondrous power in the form of a gem-like reliquary that allows the bearer to summon a Lantern Archon.
That Archon the result of that elven maiden and trapped essence of Lantern Archon created the Fey Celestial and Vestigial Goddess of moonlight known as Kestra some cruelly call her the Goddess of a Moonbeam instead given her limited power.
Kept safe within an abandoned temple to Sehanine Moonbow she fell into the hands of her reborn sister who brought it out to help vanquish the Tiefling Warlock so had been called the wizard's apprentice enslaved to the Crown.
The crown is now held by Vecna who is bitterly trying to free itself recognising the crown is far too powerful for it (it would be a century later before he becomes the power that threatened Tal'Dorei and Vox Machina as of this moment he hasn't reached that pinnacle.
The Belt remains with the dwarves, the Sceptre with the Orcs, the Torc and bracers are held by the Cult of the strife Emperor but thats only until someone follishly dons either of those artefacts.
The cape is currently worn by the half elven shadow sorceror Lucien who has no idea of the horror granting him his mystical powers and the Orb was held by a surviving Dawnfather Acolyte before the grandchild of the Orb Bearer who gave it to him for safekeeping took it back along with his father's sword in an effort to contact his patron deity and in the process Rothenel was shunted back into the Domain of Shadow it had escaped from when the Orb Bearer's first life she had carried the Orb to safety within Rothenel casting Rhyss and his island stronghold into the Domain they now find themselves stuck within.
Dark Lord Connection: Rhyss wants more than anything to live again and to reunite with the beloved he killed by accident for that to happen the surviving heirs of Clan Rothenel must NOT be slain if he is to meet his reincarnated love. Who as an elf is doomed to reincarnate so it is only a matter of time before she returns.
Secret: His beloved was fused with the Lantern Archon becoming Kestra and as such he has no idea his beloved has become the deity he set out to become instead of him.
Dark Lord Interactions: Will possess whoever dons either the Torc or the Bracers, but requires both to be worn to be able to properly possess the host so he is quite limited in what he can do whilst bodiless and only one of these two artefacts are in use. He will usually focus on getting their bearers to go after the other in an effort to claim the full power unaware of the true nature of these artefacts.
The Crown of Rulership: First it needs to free itself of Vecna a feeling the lich thoroughly agrees with as neither can overwhelm the other and find a replacement host now Rothenel has returned to the Domain of Shadow its hiding place has been revealed and its only a matter of time before some fool frees Vecna and it finds a replacement host, if it can reach whoever bears either torc or bracer it can control Rhyss unless he can locate and acquire the other artefacts.
Unlike anybody else Rhyss knows the Crown is too powerful even for him and will avoid the Crown and its current host until he can secure the other artefacts without them the only artefact that can counter the Crown's power is the Orb of Resolve as that is its specific purpose.
Sorry for the longwinded stuff here is my question does this serve as a good Domain of Dread and if not is there any tips you can provide that I can use to improve this?
Many thanks in advance and Vince, Ian and Paul no peeking!
I know by this point its too late, but you should have answered your emails and Ian this is why you can't co-opt someone else's campaign setting when its already established one of the player characters was banished from another world!