Evernight (Campaign Seed)

The World of Evernight

“	Once, dozens of great nations flourished across the land. The arcane and the divine walked hand in, bringing peace and prosperity upon us all. And then came the Days of Apocalypse. In only a handful of sun cycles, everything we had ever conceived was destroyed. The powers of the arcane cosmos slipped away, and we were all but abandoned by the gods. The disparaged and distraught survivors of the Days squabbled and bickered through the centuries of dark times. And then, from the southern lands, once known as the the Kingdom of Adal, came the shining beacon of hope. The warrior king Irii, our First Crowned and Blessed of Ur, struck out on his divinely sworn crusade to unite the world under the banner of the One God. And now, all these years later, we continue to uphold his oath. Today, we will prove that oath to those bastard heathens! We will show them Ur's divine wrath!	”
—Jaden Madan, Third Crowned of House Shakale

The world of Kyirl (KEY-url), named after the ancient creator and the setting of the Evernight campaign supplement, is one just coming out of the dark ages. Devoid of arcane and divine power for ages as their world was cut off from the rest of the planes as a result of a great magical upheavel, the people were forced to rely on others methods to survive. Now, guided by the One God, Ur, a single nation has risen to power and struggles against the shattered and warped remanants of other nations and darker things that have crept into the world.

The Calendar

Prior to the formation of the Empire, years were marked differently from region to region. The Kingdom of Adal used a calendar system called the Year of the Survivor (YS) up until as late as the formation of the Imperial Year (IY) calendar in what was declared 23IY. The Imperial Year calendar is considered to have started the year of the signing of the peace treaty with the Kerzan barbarian horde and the formation of the the House of Heroes.

-28 IY (903 YS)

Irii Shakale is born the son of the corrupt King Urza Shakale of Adal.

-1 IY (930 YS)

The First Battle of Khandor. The Kerzans are routed by the divine magic of the priests of Ur combined with the arcane power of the crusade's wizards in a display of power unseen since the Days of Apocalypse. The plains before Khandor are blasted clean, killing hundreds and creating the Khandor Barrens.

1 IY (931 YS)

The Empire is formed at the signing of a peace treaty with the Kerzan barbarians. House Shakale and House Rellan are established. Irii Shakale is declared First Crowned Emperor.

2 IY

In recognition of their years of service to the Shakale Crusade, the Atlantis Mercenary Company is officially awarded House Rights, becoming House Atlantis.

4 IY

House Atlantis and House Rellan officially support granting House Rights to the former barbarian hordes and the dwarves of Kerza. Originally, both were intended to have individual houses, but the entire motion was blocked by the First Crowned. Eventually the First Crowned concedes after word of unrest in Kerza and both are granted House Rights to form a single house between them, becoming House Kerzan.

7 IY

The Zendare Mages Guild is granted House Rights at the behest of its guildmaster.

34 IY

The First Crowned Emperor dies of the plague. For the first time, power falls entirely to the House of Heroes.

35 IY

Laaha Denine of House Shakale is made Second Crowned Emperor.

89 IY

The Second Crowned passes away. Jaden Madan of House Shakale is made Third Crowned Emperor.

97 IY

The Third Crowned temporarily moves his court to the Kerzan fortress at Khandor to personally combat the troubles in the province.

99 IY

The Second Battle of Khandor. A goblin horde

103 IY

The Third Battle of Khandor. Third Crowned Jaden Madan leads the Imperial troops against the marauding Cult of Dhara. Although the cult is stopped and Dhara destroyed, the Emperor is grievously wounded and dies shortly from his injuries.

105 IY

Killian Ikaris of House Shakale is made Fourth Crowned Emperor.

119 IY

The Fourth Crowned abdicates the throne over controversial decisions regarding the expansion of Zendare's power.

120 IY

Abbot Callis of House Rellan is made Fifth Crowned Emperor.

167 IY

Return of the Cult of Dhara. A powerful Kerzan named Jakob Delias leads the Imperial army against the Cult. The two armies meet at the western edge of the Molaa region and the Cult is resoundingly defeated. Delias is granted high honours for his leadership and granted House Rights, forming House Delian. Delias establishes a joint garrison with his former Kerzans, creating the garrison of World's End in western Molaa.

169 IY

The Fifth Crowned is removed from the throne due to deteriorating mental health.

171 IY

Alana Darrae of House Shakale is made Sixth Crowned Empress.

189 IY

The Sixth Crowned abdicates the throne with no apparent reason. Darryl Norris of House Shakale is made Seventh Crowned Emperor.

201 IY

Members of House Zendare journey into Molaa and eventually discover the ruins of Tenkan Keep. Risking life and limb, they defeated the shadows that had taken the keep and claimed it as their own. Late in the year, they would petition for House Rights, supported by House Delian and House Zendare.

203 IY

The Seventh Crowned is killed by assassins while at the wedding of his daughter. To this day, there is no apparent successor to the Crown, as the House of Heroes has so far been staunchly against placing his daughter on the throne and Ur has yet to show his blessing of a successor. Zendare and Atlantis push to dissolve the Crown officially and have the Imperial Council rule the Empire.

208 IY

Settlement of Northwind by a joint Kerzan and Delian venture. As the only settlement in the Northlands, it's selected as the capital of the new Kadril province. The dragonborn make their first official contact with the Empire and soon find themselves becoming accepted within it.

216 IY

The Hand of Corellon. Magical power is suppressed greatly across the world and the eldarin soon appear to the Empire, stating that Corellon has returned to the world and set controls upon magic to prevent a great world shattering cataclysm. The citizens rejoice, for another god has returned to help the world. Zendare is naturally distrustful of the eldarin, believing their no need for control of something they believed was already strictly controlled.

217 IY

The current year.

The House of Heroes

The Empire contains a system of noble houses, collectively called the House of Heroes. This term also refers to the Imperial Council; each house selects a single representative - usually their house head - as a member. The current Crowned Emperor also acts as a member of the House of Heroes, although he is expected to set aside house politics. Traditionally, there are six major houses, each of which has a representative upon the Council. Recently, however, a splinter cell of House Zendare in the Molaa province have begun to refer to themselves as House Apolan; as of yet, they have yet to gain enough influence to be considered a major house and currently have no seat on the council. All citizens of the Empire are expected to be a member of one house or another, and most are glad to do so when they gain citizenship, if only for the honor of being associated with one of the great houses.

Citizenship

Citizenship is one of the things that's strived towards for nearly everyone in the Empire. Your average resident of the Empire, the lower classes, do not possess membership in a House and thus are not considered Citizens. There are three ways to qualify for citizenship: heritage, marriage and worth.

Simply being born into a family with citizenship as enough; until the age of 16, you're considered a ward of the House to which your father belongs - should your father be killed, regardless of your mother's wishes or even house affiliation, you will be taken in by a member of that House who has volunteered for the position. Upon reaching the age of 16, you are allowed to select your own House affiliation, but usually by this point, unless your mother's affiliation was different than your father's, the concept of another house is foreign enough that most just maintain loyalty to their paternal house.

Marriage works similarly. Upon marrying a Citizen, if you are not a Citizen yourself, you are granted Citizenship. A non-citizen female marrying a Citizen male takes on the loyalty of their spouse's house, while a non-citizen male marrying a Citizen female is allowed to choose which House they wish to affiliate themselves with. If both are Citizens upon marriage, aside from a few potential conflicts over housematters, neither are required to make changes.

Worth is harder to specifically define. There are various ways to be granted Citizenship under this branch, and the only one defined clearly by Imperial Law is the Soldier Citizen Law: any member of either the Imperial navy or Imperial army who have served at least seven years in active duty are granted citizenship and allowed to claim allegiance to a house. Aside from that, it varies from case to case, but in all cases must be approved by a ranking house member of the House the new citizen is to be accepted into. For example, Zendare is known for granting citizenship to anyone who shows a genuine talent for magic, while Kerzan sometimes grants citizenship to apprentices of the crafts who show great promise.

House Apolan

The Pretenders

House Apolan is an upstart house and, as of yet, viewed as an outsider in the overall scheme of the Empire. Formed by the former members of House Zendare who travelled into Molaa and defeated the shadows that had taken over the ruins of Tenkan Keep, Apolan is currently seen as the protectors of the east as their only claim is the keep itself. As such, they have been put under constant attack from both political opponents in the Empire and the creatures that exist beyond the eastern province. The settlers in Molaa are glad to have them, however, and see them as true heroes.

Benefits (3.5): Members of House Apolan gain Survival as a class skill if they do not currently possess it.

Benefits (4 E): Members of House Apolan gain a +1 bonus to all Dungeoneering rolls.

House Atlantis

The Water Warriors

Believed to be named after the ocean going mercenary corps who were hired by the First Emperor to help safeguard his fledgling nation, Atlantis has never lost control of their dominions of the oceans. They have, however, evolved; in the modern day, members of House Atlantis oversee both the Imperial navy and the merchant vessels, and a number of them have actually become renowned explorers and fishers. Technically, no boat is able to sail from dock without permission from the House, though this is more a formality than anything; still, most port towns, no matter how small, tend to contain at least one person sworn to Atlantis to 'bless' boats going out.

Benefits (3.5): Members of House Atlantis gain Appriase, Diplomacy and Profession (sailor) as class skills if they do not already possess them. In addition, they gain a +1 bonus to Constitution and a -1 penalty to Strength.

Benefits (4 E): Members of House Atlantis gain a +2 bonus to all Streetwise rolls.

House Delian

The Roughriders

House Delian is the youngest of the Houses and, as such, has worked hard to earn the respect of the others. They've become valued members of the military, and many have earned titles and, in some cases, have earned themselves a family name (the founder of the House was actually a former member of House Kerzan who managed to gain enough influence). They tend to be hearty, and do anything to make a name for themselves, so long as its the kind of thing the House would approve of (they don't want to be mistaken for a member of House Zendare, after all).

Benefits (3.5): Members of House Delia gain Jump, Ride and Survival as class skills if they do not already posses them. In addition, they gain a +1 bonus to Dexterity and a -1 penalty to Intelligence.

Benefits (4 E): Members of House Atlantis gain a +2 bonus to all Athletics rolls.

House Kerzan

The Barbarian Kings

The House Kerzan was originally descended from the Kerzan barbarian horde. Centuries ago, they worked alongside the dwarves of Kerza to forge a mighty military alliance but soon came against the might of the Empire and, eventually, fell to their magic. The few smart barbarian kings and a vast majority of the dwarves aligned themselves with the Empire. Over the years, they've changed in role from warriors to a much wider array, with many serving as merchants and tradesmen. Many travellers won't purchase equipment that doesn't come from a Kerzan merchant (though in truth it's generally the same quality as other merchants).

Benefits (3.5): Members of House Kerzan gain Appriase, Craft and Intimidate as class skills if they do not already posses them. In addition, they gain a +1 bonus to Constitution and a -1 penalty to Dexterity.

Benefits (4 E): Members of House Kerzan gain a +2 bonus to all Endurance rolls.

House Rellan

The Chosen Children

Although not entirely true, most people see Rellan as the House of Ur. This particular name comes from their tendency to dominate clergy, though just as many are actually warriors serving in the Emperor's army or even simple merchants or regular nobles living off their inherited wealth. They're the smallest House, though the second most influential - as their numbers shrink, the influence of individuals actually seems to rise, strangely enough. Aside from Zendare, they have the largest population of arcane magic users, though those tend to be frowned upon by the rest as 'outliers.'

Benefits (3.5): Members of House Rellan gain Heal, Knowledge (religion) and Spellcraft as class skills if they do not already possess them. In addition, they gain a +1 bonus to Wisdom and a -1 penalty to Constitution.

Benefits (4 E): Members of House Rellan gain a +2 bonus to all Religion rolls.

House Shakale

The Royal House

The House of the First Crowned, Shakale has, and probably always will, dominate the throne. In the past two hundred years, every Crowned Emperor has ascended from this house, and a large nmber of great leaders in other walks of life have come from here as well. The House is also known for vicious infighting, as the members often vie for status with one another, and this might be the only thing that keeps its membership from swelling; most who actually qualify for citizenship would rather join another House where there's not a chance one of their own could backstab them at any turn.

Benefits (3.5): Members of House Shakale gain Diplomacy, Gather Information and Speak Language as class skills if they do not already possess them. In addition, they gain a +1 bonus to Intelligence and a -1 penalty to Constitution.

Benefits (4 E): Members of House Shakale gain a +2 bonus to all Diplomacy rolls.

House Zendare

The Dreamers' Guild

Of all the Houses, Zendare is often seen as the outsider house. Formed as a wizard's guild at the foundation of the Empire, it began to open its membership to others as it became painfully obvious that the number of arcanists in the land wasn't enough to support an actual guild. Although that has changed since, and there tend to be a lot of arcane spellweavers in the House, it has attracted others, from storytellers to lowlifes, just looking to make a name for themselves. If you ask anyone of almost any other House to describe someone from Zendare, chances are they'll include some variation of the word 'airhead' in their response.

Benefits (3.5): Members of House Zendare tend to learn faster than other Houses, as their House is more open minded about many things. Upon creation, they gain an additional four skill points and, at each level up, gain an additional skill point (this is in addition to any gained by their racial bonuses). As well, they may pick any one skill at creation to treat as a class skill. In addition, they gain a +1 bonus to Charisma and a -1 penalty to Wisdom.

Benefits (4 E): Members of House Zendare gain a +1 bonus to all rolls for two skills of their choice.

Campaigning in Kyirl

Edition 3.5 vs. 4th Edition

So, what is the reason for providing rules for both 3.5 and 4E Rulesets? In-world, the differences in rulesets marks the return of the heralds of Corellon to the lands of Kyirl. Use of magic was beginning to become abused by the new Empire, a sin that, unbeknowest to the Empire itself, was one of the primary causes of Days of Apocalypse. With help from Ur, Corellon has begun to exert influence to control the rampant misuse of the arcane; one of the signs of this is the return of the eldarin to the world. When exactly the eldarin returned to Kyirl is unknown, but the year of Corellon's clampdown on the arcane is evident.

In terms of actually playing, any campaign set during or after 216IY will use the 4th Edition ruleset. Games taking place prior to this are encouraged to be played using Edition 3.5. To handle this, rules and statistics for both editions are presented, and NPCs are presented in two versions - one from approximately 215IY (or another noted year) and one from the current year, 217IY.

The Imperial Pantheon

Although cut off from the gods since the Days of Apocalypse, the humans of the Empire - and by extension those other races who are now peacefully part of the Empire - still worship the ancient deities.

Ur, The One God

The One God - so called because Ur is the only deity who has, as of yet, been able to make his presence known on Kyirl - is universally worshipped as the foundation of modern civilization. Each Crowned of the Empire is believed to be divinely chosen by Ur himself to lead its people forward.

Corellon, The Lord of Magic

Although formerly thought to be lost to the world during the Days of Apocalypse, the recent appearance of the eldarin, once Corellon's heralds on Kyirl, has many believing that whatever force had previously cut the world off from the cosmos is beginning to fade.

---

Back to Main Page → Campaign Seeds