CrystalShield History

From RPGWiki

Campaign History

It is a dark time for Cormyr.

Unknown forces have gathered an immense army of goblinoids and undead, and including giants, demons, and dragons. This army has taken the city of Arabel, and whispered tavern rumors suggest that their ranks are being bolstered with the animated corpses of slaughtered townsfolk.

A strange man, known only by the black hat in which he is always seen, wanders the land, raising demons from the ether and laying waste to villages, apparently at random. The demons steal away certain children, for unknown but undoubtedly sinister purposes.

The very Gods themselves array their chosen representatives on Faerun, making moves in a game only they fully understand. Far from the heady powers of the Realms most famous chosen, such as Elminster or Fzoul Chembryl, these newly chosen are nearly all unknown to the majority of the world. Each had shared a single dream, in which each diety spoke for a single champion.

What is the purpose of this new generation of chosen? For what reason has each diety selected a new representative? Who controls the evil armies, and for what purpose?

History of Crystalshield

King Azoun IV has ruled his country through both prosperity and darkness. Now, evil has again awakend in his beloved country.

Rumors of an invading army spread through the court like wildfire. More than one report had reached the capital of outlying villages having been razed to the ground, their residents slain or missing. Various factions within the kingdom, ranging from opportunistic nobility to scheming rogues, began to plot how best to use the situation to their advantage. Defying all possibility, the War Wizards themselves have been infiltrated, and a large portion of thier leadership destroyed in a single, magical, assasination.

Azoun found himself with few people to trust, and even fewer available to assist him directly. When a small troupe of adventurers arrived at the capital, bearing an ancient ancestral Cormyrian crown which had been discovered in a pirate treasure, Azoun thought he might have gained a new, and more importantly, relatively unknown group of allies.

The fact that they brought the crown to him directly, and offered it to him as the rightful owner, without request for ransom or reward, spoke volumes to the beleagered ruler. That the group hailed from one of the mysteriously destroyed towns provided them with a personal reason to join in his fight. And as it happened, they arrived just as he had made an important decision.

The situation in Cormyr, even in the heavily defended capital city, was becoming too dangerous. Azoun realized that his daughter, Alusair, would become a target one way or another. As a ruler of a nation, however, he was not without friends in high places. A friend in Waterdeep agreed to keep the princess under her protection.

Normally, such a journey would have been a simple affair, with a War Wizard using the Teleport spell to travel instantly to the safehouse. However, the War Wizards were still attempting to sort out what had happened to themselves, and no ones trust could be vouched for. Azoun decided to put his trust, and his family line, into the hands of this small band of adventurers.

The mission was not without incident, but the young woman was escorted safely to the sanctuary of Waterdeep, and the group returned to the King with news of their success. The King, in gratitude, rewarded the group with it's own Duchy.

Although this was in fact a reward, it was also a shrewd move on the part of the ruler. The lands which he granted to the adventurers were for the most part ungoverned by the crown. Establishing a Dukedom in that area would provide advantages both militarily and financially, as well as advancing a new nobility which he knew he could trust implicitly.

And so, named for the signature piece of armor worn by the leader of those adventurers, the Duchy of Crystalshield was established.

Duchy of Crystalshield

The Duchy is ruled by Duke Velden, a Paladin of Helm. The Duchy spans the area bordered on the south by the Wyvernwater and the river ..., on the north and west by the river ..., and to the east by the Thunder Peaks. The only major city is currently the capital, also called Crystalshield, on the banks of the Wyvernwater near the endpoint of the River ....