Nonialba
An archivist documenting all things
Chapter 1: A Tale of Two Cities
Welcome to Baldur’s Gate, a veritable nest of rats and vipers clinging to the rocky slopes overlooking the Chionthar River. From their high perches in the Upper City, the local nobles — known as patriars — gaze down with veiled contempt upon the common rabble in the grimy Lower City, which hugs the foggy harbour. The whole of Baldur’s Gate reeks of blood, crime, and opportunity. One can easily fathom why pirates and traders are drawn to this place like flies to a carcass.
Following the river farther east would eventually lead you to Elturel, capital of the holy land of Elturgard — or at least that was the case until a few days ago. The flood of refugees from Elturel has gotten worse since the news first arrived that the city has fallen. Everyone is saying Baldur’s Gate is next, but no one truly knows who or what has claimed Elturel.
The patriars pay a mercenary army called the Flaming Fist to protect their interests in Baldur’s Gate, and by extension, the city itself. The Flaming Fist has gained even more power since their charismatic leader, Ulder Ravengard, claimed the title of Grand Duke a few years ago. Apparently, Ravengard is missing. In his absence, the Flaming Fist has sealed the city’s gates to staunch the flow of refugees. No one is allowed in or out.
All of this was brought to your attention shortly after you were drafted by the Flaming Fist to help defend the city. Your orders are to speak to Captain Zodge at the Basilisk Gate, which pierces the city’s eastern wall and takes its name from the various statues that rest in its niches and perch atop its battlements. Unseen beyond the sealed Basilisk Gate, a dirt road stretches through the Outer City slums to the bridge known as Wyrm’s Crossing, then to distant realms beyond.
Dozens of Flaming Fist soldiers are trying to control an angry mob of commoners eager to leave the city. Armed with only a vague description of Captain Zodge — a tall man with short greying hair and a leather eye patch — it takes you a while to find him. A fight breaks out between soldiers and commoners, and you finally spot the one-eyed captain as he wades into the fray and begins throwing punches. Just another day in the City of Blood.
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Angry mobs can be dangerous, and Zodge is quick to take out the instigators so that the mob’s anger turns to fear quickly. No one is arrested during the fracas the characters observe, but several commoners are beaten and robbed of their money pouches after a brief skirmish with Zodge and his soldiers. Your characters would not be surprised by Zodge’s handling of the situation. Flaming Fist captains have tremendous latitude when it comes to keeping the peace in Baldur’s Gate, especially in the Lower City.
Once the mob has been dealt with, Captain Zodge notices each of you, and approaches.
"Ah, the new recruits. I take it you are here to help with the current situation."
Please take a moment to introduce and describe your characters.
Psychie , Sherwood , Chowlett , Ginko The Mushishi , Wandering Owl , MrBrown
- You must be dedicated to playing. There will be a period of 3 days before you will be removed due to a lack of responses. If there is a reason, please PM me. You don't need to go into detail, but I would like to know. (I will continue running as if your character were here, but silent during roleplay.)
- You can be new or experienced. I would just ask, no meta-gaming. Also, we are playing a group RPG, so please try to create characters that are going to interact with each other, don't create solo characters, as we have a lovely one x one thread if you want that interaction.
- Respect other people's characters, no killing, flirting, harassing or anything someone else character without explicit in writing permission from that character. I am 100% on the side of the person who has not consented and will kick you out of this game.
- I expect some effort in your posts. I'm not requiring War and Peace to be written, but I would like to see how you interact with the world around your character. I usually DM over voice chat, so I tend to get a lot more information from there.
- During combat, I have maps made that will show the area. It may take a bit longer, but please make sure your range and such are accurate.
- I will also be considering encumbrance rules, so make sure your inventories are within your carry weight.
'If you carry weight in excess of 5 times your Strength score, you are encumbered, which means your speed drops by 10 feet.' - We are doing milestone level up. I will give you a notification when the level up has occurred and the time to level up and decide your character advancement. If you are planning to multi-class, please include a roleplay reason why (so say a warlock makes a pact, or a cleric finds a god). I'm pretty adaptable and happy to talk over things with you guys.
- I may do whispers/private stuff. I will message you directly with this information as well.
- I will use this font for descriptions and stuff. So you know what is narration. I will use this font when a character is talking/addressing one/all of you.