Faith of the Fallen

“Oh no, no no no. It cannot be.” the figure said, leaning forward. The rainbow-colored smoke and
light from the embers in the pipe grew brighter. “This is not good at all. It is time.”

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The Forgotten Realms have been in turmoil for years. The Second Sundering caused a great
cosmological shift that rearranged Faerûn’s pantheon causing deities to gain or lose power. In
addition to the shift in power, a few deities died or disappeared altogether leaving a great
imbalance.
Dark rumors have begun to circulate. Whispers speak of strange new cults seen in the streets of
Baldur’s Gate, Waterdeep, and even as far as the tundra of Icewind Dale and the jungles of Chulth.
Uneasiness hangs in the air.
The wizard EIminster Aumar, favored of Mystra, has been missing the last few years.
Open Lord Laeral Silverhand is struggling to maintain order in Waterdeep after the murder of twelve
of the Lords only a couple of years ago.
The Lords of Waterdeep face a growing criminal threat to the city. Rumor suggests that a handful
of Masked Lords have taken bribes to distract the other Lords. Sadly, due to the anonymity of the
council, it could be anyone in Waterdeep.
Druids and Rangers from the High Forest have reported animals acting abnormally as well as never
before seen plants and fungi wreaking environmental havoc.
Sailors claim that something about the ocean has not felt the same since the Second Sundering
and recently have been making odd claims about the things they are seeing in the depths.

Setting:
You have grown up in or around Volo’s Ruin – the only city on the small island of Eldenmar. The
city is fairly large considering the size of the landmass.
The small farming village of Hillside is situated on the northeast portion of the island among the
hills. Hillside is responsible for providing much of the food needed for the 2,000 inhabitants of the
island.
Other than farming; fishing is a staple for the Eldenmarian diet. Fishers tend to stick to the interior
bays of the island, but sometimes venture into the Endless Sea for larger catches, but never too
far. Three small forests exist for foraging foods, lumber, resins, and more. It is very rare to hunt
game in Eldenmar.
The southwest of the island is home to the ruins of an ancient city in the foothills of the
Shimmering Grotto Mountain range, who takes its name from the underground water source and
multiple bioluminescent insects and luminescent crystals. Ores and minerals mined from the
mountain range make their way to Volo’s Ruin for refinement. Northwest of Volo’s Ruin is an
ancient guard post before the bridge to the Emerald Gate; a dense and, as far as locals know,
impassable forest.

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The council consists of five elders from the island’s population. They are not always fellow
“Gleams,” but are invariably those with knowledge, wisdom, and temperance. Vedass Argoth is the
current High Elder. Vedass is known to be a “Gleam” that manifested so strongly he possess the
capabilities of a wizard or sorcerer. There is a widespread rumor that Vedass appears to be so
young. It is even rumored Vedass has been High Elder for more than a century. He rarely leaves his
small home in the center of Volo’s Ruin except for rare errands or when tending his walled in
garden.

Veddas Argoth – High Elder and Leader of the Council

While Vedass is head of the council and de facto “ruler” of Eldenmar. Other council members have
the task of overseeing the island’s limited resources with the exception of Agatha Hill. Agatha
serves as second in Command and Magistrate of the Hillside farm community in addition to being
the Steward of Agriculture.
A member of the council serves a lifetime appointment – only being able to leave the post through
death, retirement, or impeachment. Although there are rules for impeachment, the population of
Eldenmar have never had cause to use them.
When a seat on the council opens, a Vote For a new elder occurs. The remaining council members
Choose Candidates to present to the public. The vote is based on a ranked choice System of the
candidates. Only those 15+ years old (or the racial equivalent) can vote.

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Who’s Who:

The Council of Eldenmar:

Vedass Argoth – Male Human – High Elder
Agatha Hill – Female Human – Magistrate of Hillside – Steward of Agriculture
Ketlin Flintheart – Female Dwarf – Steward of Mountains
Fainall (fayn-ALL) Thistrar – Male Elf – Steward of the Land and Forests
Aoife (EE-fuh) Proudmore – Female Half-elf – Steward of the Endless Sea

Waterdeep:
Laeral Silverhand – Female Human – Chosen of Mystra – Open Lord of Waterdeep

Players:
You are young, new adventurers with minimal training. The community has noticed your natural
prowess but have mixed views on them. Some of you can cast small spells or have a knack for
martial abilities. Regardless of how this talent manifests – you are among the first in centuries.
The names of the past Gleams lost to time (except for Vedass). Due to this, you are known around
the island as the newest generation of Gleams.

Guidelines for Player Characters

Alignment:
No evil alignments. We are heroes, not villains.

Race Options:
If you can imagine it – it exists. All published 5e races are except for the following:

 Kenku  Kalashtar
 Orc of Exandria  Changeling
 Orc of Ebberon  Shifters
 Ravenloft Lineages  Warforged

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  Centaur  Locathah
 Simic Hybrid  Grung
 Vedalken  Races in the Planeshifts book
 Verdan

Ability Generation: 27-point buy

Easy to use calculator can found here: https://chicken-dinner.com/5e/5e-point-buy.html

Character Optional Rules: “Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything” added new optional rules. We will be
using the “Customizing Your Origins” rules. This way race does not play as strong of a factor in
choosing a class, meaning more RP options.

Advancement:
Characters advance using the milestone rules. With a couple of inexperienced players, we will go
slightly slower in leveling. We will also use the Optional advancement rules Training and boons.

House Rules:
Scrolls:

 Any spell caster can read and cast from any scroll. If a spell is on your classes spell list,
you can use the spell casting ability of your class.
 If it is NOT on your spell list, you use the spell casting ability of the spell’s primary class.
 If it is only more than one class’s spell list, you can use your highest applicable spell
casting ability.
 Non-spell casters are not normally able to effectively use scrolls.

Flanking:

 Gives both flanking characters advantage on melee attacks against the flanked target.
flanked.

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Table Rules:
We can add new rules at any time we feel it is necessary.
1. Have fun. If it is not fun, we will reevaluate as a group to get back on track.
2. You are all main characters, so share the spotlight.
3. Do not be a jerk out-of-character.
4. Obviously, no hate speech and everything that entails.
5. If at any time you begin to feel uncomfortable you can publicly or privately indicate to me or
other players your discomfort with a color system. Say or show the color based on your
comfort.
a. Yellow: Slow down/getting close to a boundary.
b. Red: Immediately stop play and re-evaluate the scene as a group.
c. Green: All good/Game back on.
6. Sometimes players like their characters smooching’ each other or NPCs, but we will leave
anything more graphic or explicit than a PG-13/R rated movie to our imaginations. The
same goes for descriptions of physical harm.

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