System Conversion!
Chardovil is converting from D&D 5e rules to be system-agnostic!
You can find the old 5e rules + articles in the new Archives category.
New roles are out! Follow the new Chardovil Update Log article for full lists of changes as they come out.
Chardovil is converting from D&D 5e rules to be system-agnostic!
You can find the old 5e rules + articles in the new Archives category.
New roles are out! Follow the new Chardovil Update Log article for full lists of changes as they come out.
Chardovil
Bright 1506
Scope
The motivation behind building Chardovil
I enjoy worldbuilding and want to make an expansive world for my players to explore. I also want to write compelling, dynamic stories with long-lasting consequences for player character actions.
The goal of the project
My goal is to create a campaign setting for other Pathfinder 2e GMs to use if they wish, along with a collection of adventures both long and short for players to enjoy that tell amazing stories and all tie into the broader world.
Chardovil's Unique Selling point
Player Character decisions and agency are essential to the stories and have wide-reaching consequences, from cheating death having long-term effects to who the players decide to make their allies and enemies effecting the final battles within campaigns.
The largest campaigns, Ascension and Godslayer, share the same overarching story, 150 years apart, and the smaller one-shots allow different characters to affect the story as a whole.
The largest campaigns, Ascension and Godslayer, share the same overarching story, 150 years apart, and the smaller one-shots allow different characters to affect the story as a whole.
Theme
Genre
- High Fantasy
- Dark Fantasy
- Light Suspense/Mystery
Reader Experience
Vochal feels glum and oppresive, with an air of superiority
Ashijan feels hopeful, but tense, as their relations with Vochal crumble
Albyn is framed as a utopia, but houses dark secrets beneath the glamour.
Ashijan feels hopeful, but tense, as their relations with Vochal crumble
Albyn is framed as a utopia, but houses dark secrets beneath the glamour.
Reader Tone
The world's tone is overall a blend of light and shadow, with even the darkest corners of the world having bright spots for the observant.
Recurring Themes
1. The Trifecta - the perfect harmony of the Mind, Body, and Soul, and what it means to be without all three pieces
2. Recurring themes of the illusion of control - everything seems handled until it is not.
3. Recurring questions of what it means to be mortal, what it means to be an individual, and what it means to obtain true power.
2. Recurring themes of the illusion of control - everything seems handled until it is not.
3. Recurring questions of what it means to be mortal, what it means to be an individual, and what it means to obtain true power.
Character Agency
The players are able to influence the world in drastic and long-lasting ways, for good or for evil, and completely alter the course of history.
Focus
Drama
Sakalli Cilith is on the verge of a major breakthrough in her research into the Trifecta, and in Artifical Resurrection.
Flames are acting seemingly on their own accord, causing widespread fires and costing thousands of lives as Kossuth, the God of Fire, goes unchecked.
Diplomatic Tensions between Vochal and Ashijan are excalating, with the possibility of war on the horizon. There are currently multiple assassination plots against powerful Ashijani public figures.
Ashijan's Culture War against Vochal and Albein, with subtle acts of protest becoming larger and larger as the government tries to crack down on foreign cultures. (The exeption to this is Altraxian culture, which is permitted as a symbol of friendship between the empires.)
Special Thanks to the players of Vaguely Competent and The Upstairs Gang for early playtesting, and to both the Denver Wrimos and fellow Anvilites for feedback.