Circle Breakers Pt. 1: We Are All But Players

We're back from my unplanned hiatus with a brand new D&D 4e campaign.  Despite the radio silence, we have, indeed, been playing; I've just not been writing.  That means quite a few sessions of catch-up for me, more reading for you: my dear readers.

Yes, we've been hopping back and forth between campaigns for the last few sessions.  I suppose this is what happens when work, significant others, and a desire for varied extra-curriculars do to a nerd.  But enough about IRL us, you want to read about our fantastical personas.

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The DM: Eric

In fairness, to call Eric a Dungeon Master would be doing a disservice to the world that he has created.  The Enthusiast crew doesn't put much favour in existing worlds in and dogma; we prefer creation.

Our game starts in the city of Brighthall.

The economic and religious centre of the known world, this metropolitan city also stands guard to a great gate through which the dark gods of the world were banished.  Gruumsh, Nerull, Lolth, Asmodeus, and Vecna were all overthrown in a great battle by the ruling deities of the city: Corellon, Melora, Bahamut, Erathis, and the Raven Queen.  

Brighthall is a city where the gods walk amongst their followers, leading their respective churches in the management of the city.  Corellon oversees the development of arts in the city.  Melora's church controls the city's connection to nature, such as forests and waterways.  Bahamut leads the police force of the city known as the Platinum Shield.  Erathis, the God of Civilization, sees to the development and urbanification of Brighthall - often putting his church at odds with that of Melora.  Finally, the Raven Queen remains the gatekeeper to the afterlife - all cemeteries and death are her domain.  All of these churches work hand-in-hand, their guilds transacting in favour and power for their God as part of the development of Brighthall.

Though the Gods walk amongst mortals, magic does not exist.  Rather, true magic practitioners have not existed for 500 years.  Those with great power wield the Gods' will, or have developed machines to tap into magic's long-lost power.

We enter Brighthall at a turbulent time.  Violent crimes have seized the city as food stores drop precariously low, threatening the tenuous agreement that each church shares.

The Cops: Edward Kenway (Aman) and Murtaugh Hightower (Me)

Eric let us know during character creation that the campaign would take a crime-investigation angle, and that he'd like at least one player to be a member of the town guard.  Both A and I volunteered as members of the Platinum Shield, the elite law enforcement arm of Brighthall.

Aman is playing Edward Kenway, a human rogue with set of sticky fingers as a foil to his guard ethos.

Hehe, sticky fingers.

Forced to steal for survival in his childhood, Edward was discovered and mentored by Anamanda Khan, the High Commander of the Platinum Shield.  Though his skills speak of the roughest of origins, he's put them to use in the name of Bahamut.  At least, he tries very hard to.

I am playing his partner, Murtaugh Hightower.

He's too old for this s**t.

A dwarf fighter from the northern marches, he's seen 175 winters pass - mostly as a sergeant with Moradin's Fist defending his ancestral people.  How he's come to Brighthall to serve as a guard under Bahamut is still of yet a mystery.  Armed with a wicked craghammer and chain mail, Murtaugh is unafraid to leap into the face of danger to help those who he believes are in need - especially his partner.

The Wild:  Ronin Stormblessed (Clark)

Ronin, Blessed by Storms.

Clark is a particular fan of complex hybrid characters, and he hasn't deviated from this pattern in rolling up Ronin Stormblessed, a elf Cleric/Ranger devoted to the Church of Melora.  Ronin is a Ravager, one of Melora's church that carries out contracts for other Orders, such as bounties, in exchange for parcels of land in the city that are then transformed back into wilderness.  In such a way does Melora gain power; so, too, must other churches use the unique skills of Melora's acolytes to maintain their control.  All-clad in rough leather armour, Ronin relies on a devastating combination of longbow, scourge and karikal, or Melora's divine might.

The Investigator:  Kajiit Stark (Lee)

Lee's an engineer.  He likes things like this.

Kajiit Stark is a halfling Artificer with a penchant for criminal investigation.  Having created the realm's first camera, he pays for his myriad inventions as a freelance journalist.  Kajiit is a cerebrally withdrawn character, yet his independent investigations have always placed him in the path of those officially meant to investigate the crimes of Brighthall.

The Vigilante:  Theren Win Dexler aka The Raven (Ely)

There isn't much to say about Theren Win Dexler.  A self-made millionaire playboy, Theren spends his days concerned with investments, women, and giving to the poor.

By night, though, rumours have it that a masked man roams the streets of Brighthall, protecting those in need.  They call him The Raven.

His meek alter ego invests heavily in cough drops.

An Invoker by class, we've taken the liberty of re-skinning Theren's powers to match The Raven's dark persona; for instance, he commands an angel of death instead of the usual angel of fire.  He is the incarnation of pure vengeance in the name of the Raven Queen.  Evil ones, beware.

Ely also does an amazing job at voicing all of The Raven's actions in his best Christian Bale / Cookie Monster impression.  It's a treat to watch role-play.  Don't you wish we recorded our actual plays?  Maybe in the future.

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Next, we delve into our first play session.  Make sure to tune in!