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If you are interested in playing, please send me an application answering the following questions:
1. What is your experience of role-playing in Neverwinter Nights?
2. Please outline the character that you would be interested in playing.
To aid with Question 2, please see the “Character Creation” and “Lore Summary” posts below.
Starting level
Characters will start at level 6 – multiclassing allowed if reasonable, items to be agreed with DM. Given the setting, it should be obvious that only Priests should have access to divine magic and only licensed mages should have access to arcane magic.
Note on party composition
The setting of this mini-campaign will be fairly grim and brutal, but that does not mean that every player character needs to be uniformly grim and brutal. It would be good to get a diverse party of characters, in terms of their roles, their alignments and personalities. I will try and be hands-off in the character creation process nonetheless!
Please also keep in mind that the campaign will be predominantly intrigue and mystery based, rather than combat (though there will be combat). It is entirely possible to build a successful non-combat character.
Lore summary
1. What is the Black Priory?
An organisation of professional witch hunters, funded by the Great College and Dragon-Church.
2. What is a witch hunter?
Witch hunters of the Black Priory are organised into retinues and lead by an Inquisitor. An Inquisitor and their retinue is sent out by the Grand Inquisitor to hunt and destroy magical or monstrous evils.
3. What does ‘magical or monstrous evil’ entail?
Unlicensed mages, undead horrors, supernatural beasts, demon-worshipping cults, etc etc.
4. What are the different ranks of playable witch hunter?
Player characters could be Apprentice Inquisitors, Acolyte Witch Hunters or Journeymen Witch Hunters. All of these characters occupy the same rank of seniority within the Black Priory. (so there is no official lead player character, though an Apprentice Inquisitor may want to take this role)
5. What is an Apprentice Inquisitor?
An inquisitor who has received the first part of their training and is now gaining practical experience by working for a Inquisitor in the field.
6. What are Acolyte Witch Hunters?
Witch hunters with a specialist role who are assigned, often unwillingly to the Black Priory, such as Licensed Mages, Dragon-Priests and College Researchers.
7. What are Journeymen Witch Hunters?
The rank-and-file of the Black Priory. Mercenaries on a ten year contract, with a generous payout at the end of the 10 years or a half-payment to the next of kin will receive a generous payout if/when they die.
8. What is the Great College?
An organisation of academics dedicated to the study of knowledge (and the pursuit of wealth and power). A rival to the Dragon-Church.
9. What is the Dragon-Church?
The organised religion of the Free Provinces, dedicated to the fanatical worship of the mythical Dragon. A rival to the Great College.
10. What are the Free Provinces?
A great number of individual provinces which were once ruled by the Archmagister, a mage of terrifying power, and now rule themselves in a loose collective.
11. Who was the Archmagister?
A wizard of terrifying power who conquered the world and installed himself in a tower in the Far East. Several hundred years ago, he was destroyed when the Dragon, a mythical creature, burst into the world and consumed him. The lands in the Far East have been rendered into unstable magical wastelands, trapping the Dragon. The magical instability has corrupted the world, leading to the prevalence of magical and monstrous evil.
12. What is an unlicensed mage?
In the aftermath of the fall of the Archmagister, the Great College, Dragon-Church and each of the Free Provinces agreed that magic should be outlawed as far as possible. To practice arcane magic without a license from the Great College is to be an unlicensed mage, punishable by death. The Black Priory was established to hunt and destroy unlicensed mages (and other magical / monstrous evil.)
Character Creation
This is just a list of questions to consider when creating your character concept.
What is the alignment of your character? [Good or Neutral allowed – there’s too much Evil in this setting without adding to it with the PCs!]
What race is your character?
See the races page.
Where in the Free Provinces is your character from?
Suggestions, please feel free to create your own Province:
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the feudal Grand Duchy of Lafain, or one of the other feudal provinces (think medieval France – chivalry, courtly poetry, overmighty nobility, appalling treatment of peasants)
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one of the merchant city states (think Renaissance Italy – powerful trading houses, endless scheming, patronage of the arts, overmighty mercenary companies)
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one of the great trading caravans (a constantly travelling caravan, funded by trading companies, containing merchants, goods to be traded, mercenaries to protect the goods and other hanger-ons)
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one of the Northern settlements originally established by the dwarves (think ex-Viking settlements where life is cold and difficult)
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Holsburg, or one of the other untamed, wild frontier provinces (think vast provinces covered in thick forests, swamps and marshes, overrun with wild beasts, monsters, wildmen, wanderers and a few safe havens)
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one of the under-cities of the gnomes, deep in a mountainWhat role does your character hold within the Black Priory?
Suggestions:
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[*] they have signed their life over to the Black Priory as an Apprentice Inquisitor, to be trained in the arts of witch hunting and to one day lead a full retinue as an Inquisitor.
[*] they were formerly a knight, and are now serving penance as a Knight-Penitent of the Black Priory
[*] they have been assigned to the Black Priory, perhaps unwillingly, as one of the specialist Acolyte Witch Hunters – a Licensed Mage, a College Researcher or a Dragon-Priest.
[*] they have signed on for money, as a Journeyman Witch Hunter with a contract of 10 years. The regular pay isn’t good and is often delayed, but there is a generous payout if you survive the full term, which is half-paid to the next of kin if you do not.Why did your character join the Black Priory?
Suggestions:
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[*] righteous belief in protecting the innocent from evil.
[*] they were tricked into signing the contract.
[*] they are very good at hunting monsters.
[*] they have sworn vengeance against magical and monstrous evil.
[*] they are a former unlicensed mage, now enslaved by the Great College and assigned to the Black Priory.
[*] they seek power and authority as an Inquisitor, so have signed on as an Apprentice Inquisitor.
[*] they have been assigned to the Black Priory, perhaps unwillingly, as one of the specialist Acolyte Witch Hunters – a Licensed Mage, a College Researcher or a Dragon-Priest.
[*] they seek penance for their past actions as a Knight-Penitent.
[*] they are an ex-mercenary, now signed on for money as a Journeyman Witch Hunter.
[*] for whatever reason, they could not cope with a normal life.
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