Welcome to Europa

Welcome to the Europa Campaign

• The next exciting campaign in the long line of successful Bates games! This one is a fantasy medieval setting which will have a focus on exploration, dungeon delving, religious and courtroom politics, a great deal of roleplaying, relationship building, interacting with a wide and varied cast of NPC's, and finally, a sub theme of horror and eldritch monsters/evil.
• The campaign will follow the story of the descendants/students of the former Heroes who saved the world as they set about solving a mystery and ending a threat to their world once more that their parents/mentors are no longer able to combat.
• There are very different racial rules for this game, making the race you play as far more important than the nation or God you have allegiance to, be warned that while some races may be stronger than others, they pay the price for their strength in the difficulty of roleplay they will face due to racism and other factors.
• The campaign will have a slower pacing and a focus on being an open ended sandbox, with the ability for the party to go anywhere and do just about anything, the story will revolve around the party instead of how I normally do it which is the party revolving around the story
• The game will be taking place from levels 3-20 and will feature paragon paths (upgrades to class features based on your characters ideals, bonds and traits, this idea was stolen from mac) in addition to Bates trademarked relics
• While you will be taking part in the worldbuilding by making the Heroes who defeated Martius last, I still reserve the right as DM to make the nations they rule, as well as slightly change the characters to represent the 49 years they have spent ruling over their nations.
• With this game I am seeking to master the ability to not railroad players, to have a "living" and open world and create many and exciting NPCs. I invite you all to give me as much advise and comments to help me with this goal as you can.

Character Creation:

• Create a level 20 character with a boon (found in the DMG) and work with the DM to make a sentient legendary magical item used by this character (it will later be used by your new character, maybe with some changes), 100,000gp to be used to buy nonmagical items, and up to 1 rare and 2 uncommon magical items or 2 rare items or 1 very rare item. This character will be the hero who defeated Martius and now rules over a nation of your choice, make their history and personality using the lore of the world, their race, and any events that may of happen to them. Then choose a nation that they now rule and how they have tried to shape that nation. For more information on the creation of this Level 20 or influencing the empire they now rule, please see Creating your level 20 and their empire
• Create a 3rd level character using the following rules, including those for racial traits. This character is a descendant or related to in some way to the level 20 character you made earlier. This will be the character you play for the campaign.
• Gain an extra 500gp at start.

Races:

• Humans : Easily the most proliferate race, Humans do not get anything special. Humans treat each other differently based on their nationality or religion, but mostly all are treated well and many races admire and try to appease humans, but others such as some Elves are still resentful towards the humans and Martius destroying their empire, however most of the time Humans are praised, treated well and liked by all
• Halflings : All Halflings get the Bountiful Luck feat. Almost everyone loves halflings, however that's not as beneficial as one may think, many halflings complain of not being treated seriously, of being seen as little more than funny tricksters and silly little guys and gals. They aren't given any responsibility and are treated as little better than children.
• Gnomes : All Gnomes get the Artificer Initiate, Gunner or Crossbow Expert Feat, Gnomes are deeply mistrusted by almost every non-human race due to them giving the Humans the power they needed to carry out genocide across the world. Even Humans tend to be slightly misunderstanding as gnomes are seen as strange and enigmatic creatures.
• Aasimar : All Aasimar can cast Divine Favor as a 1st level spell once per long rest, and the Thaumaturgy cantrip, using CHA as the modifier, then they also gain either the Sentinel, Mage Slayer, Fighting Initiate, or War Caster feat. The Aasimar are treated with some annoyance, it was their duty to defend against one race conquering the rest, and they failed the Humans when the Humans were enslaved and they failed all the other races when they were massacred by the humans, there aren't many Aasimar left, most having died during The Devastation, so they are seen as lone lost soldiers, creatures out of time without a purpose or a place.
• Dwarves : All Dwarves gain the Durable and Dwarven Fortitude Feat. Dwarves are seen as bitter, gruff, and generally just crotchety, most people dont bother dealing with dwarves and avoid them because of this stereotype. They are left alone and treated as not being worth the hassle of dealing with, which generally causes most dwarves to end up bitter, gruff and generally just crotchety. Dwarves worked their humans hard in their mines, and now dwarves must work twice as hard as anyone else to gain even a modicum of respect and dignity, as those they are working for look down on every dwarven deed with distaste.
• Elves : All Elves gain either the Shadow Touched, or Fey Touched Feat, as well as the Magic Initiate, Elven Accuracy or Prodigy feat . Elves were one of the worst master races, oppressing their human slaves with such cruelty or so universally that when the roles got reversed, it became normal and almost fun to treat elves how they once treated the other races, elves are shunned, spat on, beaten, insulted, robbed, but rarely killed, still, its so bad that many elves cover their ears or even cut them off, while many more elven purist flaunt them with what pride they still have.
• Tiefling : All Tieflings gain the Resilient and Infernal Constitution Feats, and either Actor, Keen Mind or the Skulker Feat, when choosing Actor or Keen Mind, they do not get the ABI that comes with that feat. Tieflings are treated with pure fear and terror, there arent many tieflings, mostly due to them being hunted down, or hiding away. Any tieflings that are spotted are swiftly attack or fled from, with scared townsfolk returning with the guard and a mob to ensure this most vile spawn of Tarsil doesnt escape. The tieflings have oddly enough almost mastered this, ruling over bandit kingdoms, tribes of monsters, cabals of cultists, creating their own organizations bent to their will and power. This only plays into more and more innocent tieflings being accused of crimes, being arrested and executed, which only leads into more tieflings seeking power to survive.
• Other Races : Ynbris created dozens of other playable races, if you want to play one that isn't listed here, let me know and I will put it in and give them appropriate buffs, for most of them though, they are regarded as tolerable, as they were poorly treated by the other races as well, and were one of the only races to ally with the Humans during their revolt, they are known for living with Humans so easily while many other races struggle to survive, the races of Ynbris seem to be thriving, even able to have their own societies within humanity as well.

Homebrew Rules:

• Currently the only Homebrew rules are for death. Death is normally a very serious affair, with there being no spells to return from the dead (abilities work on a case by case basis, ask your DM about the Zealot Barbarian today!). However, despite being encased in starlight, the Gods regularly meddle in the deaths of mortals, as these souls go to the Gods they have worshiped or most align with, to become one with their divinity again, its possible for that God (or another God if they're quick or caring enough) to send the soul back to the body, usually with a purpose, quest, or penalty in addition to them being alive again. One common occurrence is for another God (usually Ynbris ) to intercept the soul and offer it its life back so long as they consent to changing their race and religion to worship the God who is bringing them back.