Northreach

From Toosigma

Northreach is a 4th Edition D&D campaign founded on the principles of the Sandbox Experiment. The focus will be on more "classic" dungeon crawls and "kick-in-the-door" style play, with less emphasis on epic plot arcs and massive story development. Part of the idea is to allow different groups of PCs access to the world, allowing them to experience a little friendly competition as they delve the various ruins in the North.

Overall, I'm looking for a "Dark Ages" feel - the players are larger-than-life heroes capable of amazing feats, but the world as a whole is dark, gloomy, and their allies are mostly grimly "realistic" folks. The campaign is going to be mostly unplanned and improvised, but I hope to draw in a lot of sources from "Old School" D&D, including some 1e adventures and a heavy emphasis on dungeon crawling (as opposed to politics or high-social play). The PCs are the "Good Guys" and they are out to trounce the "Bad Guys" who are almost stereotypically evil - less on the ambiguity, more of the "Butt-kicking for Goodness!"

One hundred years ago, the Petran Empire ruled over the entirety of the known world. Peace reigned supreme, but like all things, it came to an end. In a single month, a tide of demons flooded from the North, overrunning every defense in hours if not minutes. A last ditch defense was mounted on the fields of Caemlynn - thousands of the world's greatest heroes perished in the bloodbath, but the demonic advance was halted.

Since that time, the remnants of the civilized races have struggled to put their lives back into some semblance of order. Life on the frontier is harsh, however, and progress is both limited and difficult. A new generation of heroes has come of age in this dark time - can they restore the light?