Campaign Background

The campaign I am running takes place in a human-ruled Kingdom of Salish, set in a fertile land surrounded by a temperate rainforest. Salish has claimed and cleared a large area, but its frontiers are a dense wood protected by elves, a steep mountain range populated by more elves, barbarians, orcs, and monsters, and the rocky shore of a stormy ocean where enormous sea monsters swim. In every direction, the kingdom is threatened by dangerous wilderness populated by antagonistic forces.

Salish has an east-meets-west flavor. It is ruled by a magic-using warrior-king named Brandon. European style weapons and armor coexist with katana wielding fencers. Open homes with tatami mat covered floors house peasants ruled by nobles in great stone castles. Roadside inns serve rice and mutton and masterless warriors wander thecountryside in the wake of an enforced peace under a strong and magical dictator.  Mages conceal their power for fear of the wrath of King Brandon. Druids and clerics see to the spiritual needs of the common people and the powerful alike, competing for their souls. Sprawling temples are filled with grottoes and shrines to individual gods, and fortress-like monasteries dot the frontiers of the kingdom, where monks practice discipline and personal spiritual mastery. Nobles, forced by King Brandon to cease overt wars with one another, employ ninja assassins to spy on and kill one another or simply prevent other nobles from doing the same to them. These aristocrats entertain traveling minstrels, who increase their hosts' prestige and help cultivate the appearance of refinement in their courts, while the minstrels influence the government through their art and propaganda.

King Brandon seeks to use magic and his armies to bring about a new sort of domain, where peace and security are the norm. He is supported by the clergy, who have benefited from his suppression of wizards. He regards the monasteries warily, as sources of potential sedition. He wishes he could conquer the forests of the elves, to open more farmland, but maintains an official truce while he consolidates internal peace.

Salish engages in tentative trade with the barbarian tribes of the mountains, hoping to use culture to entice them to become part of the kingdom. The nobles nurse old feuds, while pledging fealty to Brandon. The households and fighting forces of the nobility are much reduced, released from service as the King's Peace takes hold. These warriors, advisors, and experts now wander the kingdom, seeking a new place in the world. Many find themselves at Salish's frontiers.