Player Primer - Thorns of the Emperor

"I have peered into the Abyss and I have seen nothing but death. I have watched families starve. I have watched brother kill brother. I have watched families turn on one another. Tell me? Is this something our kind and just gods would allow? Is this all part of some grand scheme? Are we just actors on a stage for them to watch? No! We are the makers of our own lives! Why should we allow some corrupt priests to tell us how we are to live our lives when they have never once felt the pains of hunger. Arise my brethren! The church can not control us no more! Arise! Let them have a taste of the despair we have all suffered from! Arise!"

~Emperor Ashur Vimor circa 675 NE

Ashur Vimor is known by many. The Conqueror, The Undying, The Heretic, The Destroyer but most just call him the Emperor. During the year 688 NE Ashur Vimor led a small army that conquered the Theocracy of Brafon. This battle was overwhelming in Ashur Vimor's favor as he summoned powers that leveled entire cities with a wave of his hand. When he arrived at Feyhollow he walked in without any resistance. He then purged the last of the clergy before crowning himself Emperor of the new Vimor Empire. This was not a positive to the people however. Something had changed within the once respected activist. Something far darker now lurked behind his eyes. Emperor Ashur Vimor would enact laws that caused severe consequences to any who worshipped The Seven, in most cases public execution. The nobility that rose in the Empire would also remain unchecked. Most would create their own little kingdoms that would strip basic rights of the peasantry. As long as they remained loyal to the crown they were free to do as they wished. To ensure his perfect rule Emperor Vimor Ashur created a knight order known as the Order of the Red Rose. These knights were magically empowered and a single one of them could fight an entire army by themselves. These Knights were also charged with wiping out any remains of the Theocracy of Brafon, which also included the Dragonblooded. The holy knights of the Theocracy of Brafon. Now a century has passed. The Emperor has removed himself from the public for an unknown reason, the Knights of the Rose have increased their efforts in the eradication of the Dragonblooded, and the nobility remains unchecked. How will you the Ratcatcher's survive in this oppressive regime?

Where am I?

You will be travelling to a small village known as Valhale. You as a party met up and formed in the city of Lexica, 12 leagues north, north-west of Valhale. There are rumors that Valhale has paying Ratcatcher work. The village is barely large enough to have needed amenities for a local Ratcatcher. Despite this the village is homely. Thankfully with the remoteness of this village the local nobility doesn't pay much attention to it. This village sits at a crossroads. From here it could make a good base to explore the local area and maybe make some coin.

Who am I?

• Dwarf: Although originally from the Holds of Baston, dwarves can be found far and wide. Those in the Vimor Empire are often in jobs dealing with metalwork, and other craftwork. Ratcatchers are also a popular profession for the Dwarf.
• Elf: Hailing originally from the Hodo Empire, elves are natural warriors. Elves abroad are generally considered Ronin, and are not looked favorably amongst their countrymen. They make natural Ratcatchers however.
• Gnomes: A newer ancestry to be found within Ronia, little to no Gnomes exist within the Vimor Empire, however from their deep homes in the deepest parts of the Under Road some have found their way to the surface. Often mistaken as halflings, these individuals make strong craftsmen and most importantly eccentric individuals who follow their self interests.
• Halfling: The Halfling are a cuirious folk. The families form caravans that travel the world. This is no different within the Vimor Empire. Halflings who leave these caravans are looking to make a name for themselves or to gather stories they can tell around a campfire.
• Human: The primary inhabitant within the Vimor Empire, they can be found in all walks of life, professions, or even status. Half-humans are also common, however those with more non Human features can face persecution from other humans. This is most true within the Vimor Empire
• Rakashans: Hailing from distant shores, the Catfolk have found an unfriendly welcome within the Vimor Empire, they are often the subject of accusations of pickpockets and thieves. This is rarely true however. Despite this and the mostly closed borders the Catfolk continue to populate across the Vimor Empire.
• Kitsune: Hailing originally from the Neophate Dynasty, Kitsune have slowly made their way across Ronia. Most work as Ratcatchers or scholars. Some have set down roots within back water communities within the Vimor Empire as their presence in larger communities are a much rarer event.
• Nagaji: Known in their mother tongue Vallosan as Yuan-ti, meaning children of Yuan. The Nagaji are an ancient race that once ruled the Vallosan Empire that was situated where the now Yearning Expanse is. Their Empire was swallowed by the oceans when the Brotherhood of the Yellow Sign attempted for domination of the Vallosans. Two millenniums later the Nagaji have resurfaced and now work as scholars, and teachers to the younger ancestries.
• Orc: The Orcs are a gentle race of tribals who worship and nurture nature. The can be found in the wilds following herds of buffalo on the plains. They take great pleasure in personal hygiene, with their tusks being status symbols amongst the clans. Most villages are open to a travelling Orc, but many from the higher populated settlements might view them as primitives.
• Goblin: Considered a pest by many, a target for others. Goblins are found all across Ronia. Crafty and Clever are both things that can describe most goblins. Some have left their tribes behind to work as Ratcatchers. However their will always be a stigma upon them.
• Dragonborn: The Dragonblooded are hunted within the Vimor Empire. As the last of the wardens of the Theocracy of Brafon they have gone into hiding and still help those who are in need from the shadows. Be warned the Knights of the Rose have imperial mandate to hunt them. And the Knights never tire...
• Others: Other ancestries might be found within the Vimor Empire please check with Ryu before you select them however!

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I am looking for 4-7 players to run this campaign for. This campaign will be a hexcrawl sandbox situated within the Region of Brafon and possibly the neighboring nations. There will be a heavy focus on personal character stories as such character backstories will be important. I welcome all players of any experience level, no matter race, gender, religion, political leaning ect. I just ask that you do not bring any of that to the table. I will only give 1 warning before booting someone from the table for any of that behavior. Expect the campaign to take about a year playing weekly games of 2-3 hours each. The game itself will see tactical battlemaps mixed with some theater of the mind to augment some encounters or locations that really don’t need a full battle map. I will be placing the following rules/restrictions in effect for character creation.

1. No overly edgy social outcasts that do not want to work with a party. This is a team storytelling game. It gets tiring dealing with the archetype after hour 8.
2. No stealing from fellow party members.
3. No rolling dice against other party members.
4. No characters that give off blatant red flags.
5. Characters will be expected to have a backstory that must be approved by me. You did not just materialize out of nothing after all! Your characters have lived a life up to the point they became adventurers. You will also need to have your age, birthdate, weight, and height figured out (some traps trigger depending on weight ect.)
6. No Homebrew
7. No blatant murderhobos.
8. No evil characters. This is not the easiest to define sometimes but check with me if you are unsure. I don't mind grey but keep it within reason.
9. Play Test content will be allowed only on review from myself. Please talk to me before selecting play test material.

We will be playing the game on a program called Foundry VTT. The program is 100% free to the player. World Anvil will be used to organize session notes.

Character Creation

1. Starting Gold: 15 gp
2. Starting Level: 1
3. Automatic Bonus Progression will be in effect
4. Check discord #important-info under thorns of the emperor for any specific setting rules.
5. Archives of Nethys For all character creation/rules
6. Uncommon Classes will NOT be allowed in this campaign. Vimor Empire is quite behind compared to other parts of the world.
7. Please check with me for uncommon ancestry, humans are the dominate ancestry but others might be found
8. Dragonborn are possible characters to play, choose any ancestry and take the Dragonblood heritage. Note that Dragonborn are hunted within the Vimor Empire and many citizens might report you to the local watch captain.

Session 0 Topics

Advancements: An advancement will be handed out every second session as long as those sessions had something meaningful happen in game. I.E Combat, Roleplay, ect.
Player, Behaviour, Game Behaviour & DM Expectations

• Alcohol - Please come to the session sober. I don’t mind if you have a drink or two but I am not willing to DM for someone intoxicated.
• Narcotics - Again please come to session sober.
• Player Attention - If a player is constantly distracted without reason I will ask you in private if you need to step away. Constant disruption will result in asking you to leave the table for the night.
• Disruptive Topics - have already touched on this already. However please do not bring it to the table. I will only give 1 warning before kicking a player.
• Unannounced Dice Rolls - I do not accept unannounced dice rolls. I will pretend it never existed. I will ask you to roll dice. You are free to negotiate a different skill check however if I have put my foot down that is the roll I need.
• Dice rolls against one another - I do not use dice rolls to settle player arguments. If you disagree you must roleplay the encounter out to convince the other person. If it starts to become an OOC matter I will step in as needed.
• Player vs Player - I am ok with tension between players however you still have to work together as a group. You are not to steal from one another. I do not condone PvP however if there are any cases that it might come up. At this point it gets rolled just like any other combat encounter.
• PC Secrets - Try to keep the secrets to a minimum. It stresses me out as a DM trying to keep up with everything! I don’t mind one or two though.
• Player Expectations, Types, Goals & Diversity - This campaign will be RP, and combat heavy with a large amount of exploration. Keep in mind not all players will have a min/maxed character. And in fact you don’t have to have one as I will be trying to balance stuff to work with a non min/maxed character.
• Player Discomfort - As discussed earlier: war, animal cruelty, torture, murder, famine, and racism as well as other topics may appear within the campaign.
• Player Agency - I am a strong supporter of Player Agency. However there may be certain situations where you can lose control of your character. This is hard to give examples for.
• Game Balance & Fairness - The encounters at times will be very deadly if players make certain decisions or take certain actions they can become unwinnable. I as a DM will not hold back in either case. Expect to have to think on your feet and play smart.
• Rules Debates - I facilitate rules discussion at the table however in many cases I will make a ruling on the fly to keep the game moving. We can always revisit the rule after the game to discuss further on the rule. When I have made a call I expect everyone to run with it as is.
• Spotlight Sharing - Players should try to share the spotlight where they can. As DM I will try to shine the spotlight on as many players as I can. Please try not to trample over another player's spotlight during a scene. That is just bad practice.
• Meta-knowledge - try to separate your characters from yourself. Just cause you know the troll doesn’t regen from fire damage doesn’t mean your character would know. I treat knowledge checks as a free action. Use them as needed. I as well will try to enforce limited discussion while already in an encounter. You should spend the time outside these encounters discussing strategy and tactics then.
• MinMaxing - I welcome both optimized and unoptimized characters and will try to facilitate both.
• Character Party Fit - You players will be required to create a character that is willing to at least be a part of the group. Do not create a social outcast that refuses to work with the party.
• Murderhobos - just no… it really becomes a boring game for everyone involved when you go and just start killing random civilians. Your characters do not know the concept of Advancements! It is a player mechanic to track your character's growth through quantifiable numbers.
• Other behavior Rules - always be respectful of one another

The DM

• Player Absences - I will run a game as long as 4 players are present. The missing players will be controlled by someone in the party or by the DM. Or fade into the background. When they return it is as if they were always there. The missing player still receives their cut of any advancements, treasure and loot even if they miss a session. Working adults have things that come up, that is life. There won't be any punishment for missing sessions.

Ethic Concerns & Topics

• Gender - players can play any gender they wish and you will not be judged at my table by me or any of the players.
• Attraction & Sexual Orientation - same as gender you can play however you see fit and you will not be judged by me or other players.
• Rape, Sexual Assault - NO, players trying to do this at my table will receive 1 warning. Next time it happens they are booted from the campaign. I won’t be an outlet for any sick fantasies sorry.
• Racism, Prejudice - When creating your characters try to shy away from this topic as much as you can.
• Slavery - Players will not be able to own slaves