The Kharas Campaign: (1985-1999)

Setting: Kharis City and the surrounding area, Planet of Dark Realm

The Party:

Notable NPCs: Nicodemus Sage of the Shadowplane, Darkmoore the Dragon Turtle

Notable Villians: Tiu-chef the Chaotic, Tiamat, Kostochie,

Notable Adventures: The Legend of Zandar Bone, Isle of Dread, Dwellers of the Forbidden City, Five Coins for a Kingdom,

Summary: The Campaign took place in the sprawling region of Kharis. Adventures usually began in the seedy parts of town. Later as the party took on roles of rulership adventures tended to deal with attacks upon the city. And invariably involved a masterminded plot perpetrated by Tiu-Chef the Chaotic. Talon having attracted the power of some supreme deity endured a series of tests to ascend to godhood. Kai likewise achieved immortality and continued his existence upon his cloud castle. Many believe Kandrin came to rule the Shadowplane.

Notes: This is the first campaign and D&D played by the Gault boys. Dave Parsons had played before and introduced the game to Larry and Ken. They started with original edition D&D (The little Red Box). They eventually graduated to first edition D&D with many trips to seedy book stores to find more source books. Notable amongst these was the Compete Stategist, a cornucopia of gaming located on 33rd street in Manhattan. The characters themselves saw many manifestations and changes as time went on. Kai eventually spawned a second character called Darktreader. Rob, being a young boy seldomly played and when he did it was mostly random characters. Mostly he played the ogre Bruti. Everyone involved DM’d at one time or another. Larry and Dave mostly split the Dming with Ken Dming sparingly. Rob’s Dming only involved solo Larry solo modules. The Campaign actually ended in 1989 as the Gaults moved to Beacon. Though there was an oncore module DM’d by Dave at Kens apartment in Bronxville in 1999. In that adventure mechanical armies assaulted Kharis city. The Characters now gods finally and forever defeated Tiu-Chef the Chaotic. His body parts split up and locked in boxes that could only be opened by the party members. For the most part the party started with a small map then explored outward. Each DM detailing in one direction.

Kharis Campaign Information

City of Kharis

Talon: Memoires of a Doomhammer

Legend of the Amber Hearthstone

Talon: Memoires of a Doomhammer

Race: Half-elf

Class: 28th level Fighter / 28th level Arch-magi / 12th level Cleric

Alignment: Chaotic-good

Appears as: 150 year-old half-elf male, with black hair, and green eyes. Talon is always dressed in blue dragonscale armor, and keeps a longsword and two battlehammers on his person.

In the beginning, there was nothing more than a red box, with two guides and some dice. This was the world of Talon DoomHammer, and this is where his tale begins.

His first adventure in this strange, new, magical world was to find the source of multiple murders in a little forest town, whose name is lost to memory. It was during this adventure that he came to know evil, in both human, and supernatural form.

Zandar Bone, an undead creature, was leading a cult of evil-worshippers, who were trying to appease their god and win his favor by practicing the rite of human sacrifice. Deep in an underground dungeon, we faced these clerics and their undead leader, defeating them, and finally their leader, by destroying his phylactery, which we discovered was none other than his very own dismembered index finger. We shattered it, and sent him to meet his evil god.

Many adventures ensued after this first one. Many enemies were made, many monsters were fought and defeated, many friends and allies were found. One of our first friends we ever made was a giant dragon turtle, named Darkmoore, who appropriately enough, lived in the Darkmoore River. Darkmoore was a great and true friend, and we could approach him at any time for companionship, a ride, or advice.

King Mincis was another great and true friend, and after Talon founded the city of Kharis, the two kingdoms were forever locked in friendship and brotherhood, and allied themselves to each other. Together, these two kingdoms stood against the forces of evil, and often fought side-by-side. Trade was commonplace to the benefit and profit of each of the cities citizens.

During Talon DoomHammer’s days of adventuring, he crossed many lands, countries and planes of being. During one such adventure, he crossed into one of the layers of hell, meeting and fighting the devil Baalzebub. Talon and his companions fought the devil prince for hours, finally claiming victory. Talon hefted Baalzebub’s very own sword, a longsword made of pure black onyx, and successfully supplanted the evil found within it, miraculously turning it toward a goodly alignment. He renamed the sword Venom, and it became his primary weapon.

When Talon DoomHammer had made a name sufficient enough to be sung by the bards, he built his own castle in the center of the plains of Kharis. Adventurers and soldiers, pure of heart, flocked to his banner, and one-by-one, displaced half-elves began to swell his castle keep. Soon the largest community of half-elves in the Realms had gathered, finally finding a place of acceptance with their half-elven liege.

The town was given a name, Kharis, after the plains it was built on. Humans, dwarves, elves and half-elves, came to this place, ready to live together, to accept their fellow citizens, and forge a strong bond of kinsmanship. It was this attitude, fostered by Talon, that helped spread the reputation of Kharis far and wide. The town with a reputation for acceptance grew into a city, and the city grew and evolved, first from a simple farming community with a small militia, to a bustling inner city protected by a fine army of soldiers and adventurers.

One of these soldiers came to Talon and pledged her undying loyalty. Talon could see that she was something other than human, and begged her to reveal her true self to him. She did so, and transmogrified into her true form, that of a silver dragon. She told Talon her true name was Khirsah, and she became Talon’s mount. They rode into many wars and battles together, always claiming victory.

At this time we came to understand that the world we were playing in was one of our own making, Each and every adventure added to the world map. At some point, we put all these maps together and a continent began to take shape. We needed to name our world, and after much debate, and in the vein of the popular playing world of the time, we named our multiverse, “Dark Realm,” denoting the level of evil still prevalent in the land.

Many wars did Kharis fight against the forces of evil that gathered in the Vanguard Mountains to the west, each time driving them back to their mountain holes, often with great and fantastic losses to both sides. It was during this time that Talon DoomHammer and his close companions set out to find powerful artifacts that could help them in future attacks from the forces of evil.

After exhaustive research, Talon came across an old history concerning a powerful artifact from a different age, the Age of Might, one that held immense power. Talon and his companions set out in search of this artifact, called Remddithy’adaz, The Amber Hearthstone.

After much adventuring and searching, the companions finally found the artifact in the treasure trove of an ancient and powerful guardian dragon, watching over an imprisoned force, that of an Incarnation. Unbeknownst to the adventurers, an Incarnation was the physical manifestation of an idea or concept, a body given to the idea of war, or sorrow, or death. This Incarnation being guarded was War, and had been trapped for millennia by a long-deceased race in a block of stone.

Forces working against the companions however, unlocked the Incarnation, releasing it and its power to create war at random on the peoples of Dark Realm. The guardian dragon offered us anything we wanted from its trove if we could somehow recapture the Incarnation. The companions took the Amber Hearthstone from the trove and used it to recapture the Incarnation of War, and restore the guardian dragon to its never-ending duties.

While Talon DoomHammer took the Amber Hearthstone for himself, his companions were also given great gifts, some magical artifacts, some innate abilities. Talon returned to Kharis victorious, and used the Amber Hearthstone’s immense power to strengthen the magical defenses of Kharis, its walls, and structures. Never again was Kharis defeated in battle by the forces of evil, and Talon DoomHammer became one of the most powerful beings in all the Realms.

It was at this time that Talon began crafting his very own magical weapons, using the Amber Hearthstone to imbue them with powerful magicks. Talon was a powerful Arch-magi, but he was also a powerful warrior as well. Although he favored his longsword Venom, he also loved the powerful blows a warhammer could inflict upon an enemy, or a structure. He set out to take advantage of his two-weapon fighting style, and crafted a fine replica of Thor’s hammer, Mjolnir. Talon imbued it with many powerful magicks, and named it the DoomHammer.

For his other hand, his off-hand, Talon journeyed to the Plane of Shadow, over which his traveling companion and friend, ruled. From that plane, Talon mined a measure of shadowsteel, a strange substance made of shadow, but as strong as steel. From this shadowsteel, he crafted another hammer, and imbued it with powerful magicks. The Shadowhammer, as it came to be known, was empowered with a powerful spell of transmutation, that allowed it to be shrunken down to the size of a mere 6 inches, and be worn on a special bracer attached to Talon’s wrist.

Both hammers could be thrown a distance, and would return to only Talon’s hand.

Talon continued to adventure with his companions, always fighting for the greater good, but soon came to realize that in his mortal life, he would never be able to do all he desired. He would need to become something more, everlasting. Although he had the power to sustain his life through undead means, Talon refused to turn to evil. His only other option was Godhood.

He began his search to achieve Godhood by becoming familiar with it. He actively sought out the highest ranking members and clerics of evil cults, clergy, and religions, and slew them. Eventually he gained the attention of some of these religions mightiest beings, demi-gods sent by their powers to slay Talon. Battle after battle, Talon slew these demi-gods, and gained in power himself.

Finally, an Immortal, a being far superior to the Gods themselves, took notice of Talon, and judging him worthy, granted his wish. Talon could achieve Godhood by battling through a series of tests and challenges, while at the same time, remaining true to his heart, his alignment, and his principles.

Talon successfully negotiated each challenge and test, eventually sacrificing himself to save a small town from a marauding band of mountain-dwelling orcs, trolls, giants and goblins. The Immortal, realizing that Talon remained true to himself, resurrected Talon, but this time as a true God, the Dark Realm God of War, the first God of the Dark Realm pantheon.

Talon's Armaments:

Venom
+5 onyx vorpal flame-tongue longsword
-Detect evil/good 10 ft. radius
-Shed light/darkness in 20 ft. radius
-Detect Baalzebub within 100 foot radius

DoomHammer
+5 Admantium Shocking Returning Warhammer
-On Successful hit must save vs. Parilyzation for 1d4 rds (DC25)
-All ranges are considered point blank
-Dragon Orb embedded on bottom of handle
-One time per day, hammer can cause earthquake as 15th level Cleric spell

Shadowhammer
+3(+5 Shadowbane, Returning) Shadowsteel Hammer
-Hammer returns to Talons hand automatically when thrown
-All throwing ranges are at point blank for Talon
-One time per week, can cast a one mile area into the Plane of Shadow and one mile of Shadow Plane transported here to replace
-One time per day can turn wielder into a shadow
-Shrinks down to 6 inches and enlarges to full size on command

Blue Dragonscale Armor +5
-Armor fashioned from a blue dragon of the adult age category or higher. The armor includes a dragonhelm also fashioned from the hide of the same blue dragon, but built into the eye sockets of the helm are lenses equivalent to Eyes of the Eagle.

Talon’s Desk
fashioned from a dense meteorite
inscribed with powerful protective runes that make the desk impervious to any kind of damage whatsoever
wall of force- talon can enclose his person with an enclosed wall of force
light - on command, the desk-top will glow in s odt blue light that will illuminate a 10’ X 10’ area

The Legend of the Amber Hearthstone

Millennia ago, there existed an age of might that surpassed even that of today's most powerful wizards. An age undreamed of by today's modern Dark Realm. Even in this time of mighty wizards and warriors, there still existed the struggle between good and evil. The forces of evil, aided by their more powerful magicks, brought devastating conflict to lands who had known only peace for centuries. The forces of good always fought back in equal fashion, commonly reaching stalemate as is the way of good and evil, but the consequences were always dire, always death and destruction. Countless lives ended in this manner and the forces of good sought a way to find or create a magical weapon that could tip the scales in their favor, tip the scales towards good. The beings on the side of neutrality argued that this was against the flow of nature but the forces of good did not care, they didn't want to wipe out evil, they just wanted to cripple them, to keep them in check for a long period of time. Little did the forces of good know however that evil was intending to do the same to good. Working with the rulers of the underworld, demons and devils alike, the forces of evil were at work creating a creature of nightmare, a creature torturous to the imagination, an abomination to nature itself. The creature had many names. Most called it simply, "Death." The forces of evil called it by its true name, the Taras’qui.

The earth screamed in agony when the creature took its first steps on the ground. It towered over everything. The tales say that it was born from the union of two giant volcanoes, its wrath as mighty as that of the two monoliths erupting at once. The only joy this creature knew was the destruction of all that lived, all that was beautiful, all that existed. Its hunger was insatiable, and it ate everything, from people and animals, from buildings and trees, to the very grass itself. It would feed and feed, and would never stop until all the sustenance was gone. The people of goodly alignment feared, were terror-stricken, and they turned to their wizards for help.

The forces of evil had known that what they created would be virtually unstoppable. The Taras’qui could not be harmed by sword or catapult, its wounds healed too quickly, right before the eyes. Even magic had minimal effect. They knew that even evil did not possess the means with which to stop it, but they unleashed it nonetheless, with the hopes that the forces of good would find a way to stop it. They knew that even if Good could find a way to stop the Taras’qui, they would be significantly weakened and would be ripe for takeover. The Taras’qui ravaged the Earth for weeks before the goodly mages finally finished their most powerful weapon, "Remddithy'adaz, the Amber Hearthstone".

The Forces of Good finally had their weapon. They gathered their forces and their most powerful wizards and went off to fight the Taras’qui. The battle that ensued felt like it was everlasting, and indeed it went on for days. The Taras’qui was injured many times and was on the run from the forces of Good and the terrible sting of Remddithy'adaz, but Good was tiring and the Taras’qui was healing too fast. Finally, knowing that their strength was fading, and fearing that they would give out before the Taras’qui, the forces of Good mustered all their remaining power, strength, and life-force, and channeled it all through The Amber Hearthstone in one final blow to the beast. The energy gathered by Remddithy'adaz sucked all the life- force out of the remaining armies of Good and focused it all at the creature called Death, the Taras’qui. The ensuing apocalypse devastated the countryside for miles around, leveling mountains and creating a canyon so deep that a hole was opened to an underground river that filled the crater and created a lake too deep to fathom.

It was at this point that the armies of Evil started to spread across the land like a swarm of locusts. They took over and occupied almost every town and city on half the continent. The armies of good kept retreating until finally they were able to establish equilibrium and hold off evil with regularity. When stalemate was finally achieved, an effort was organized to search for the lost Amber Hearthstone. The quest would prove to be difficult however, seeing as how the lake where the Taras’qui had met its end was now in enemy territory, but the bravest left to the forces of Good were selected, and journeyed into the heart of evil to retrieve Remddithy'adaz.

It took many months for the brave adventurers to cross the territory held by evil and they encountered many horrors. Demons were loose in the land, and if the humans and elves and dwarves were not working as slaves, they were being served up as entrees for the demon lords and their ilk who ruled over them. Black clouds held sway over these territories; the sun was never to shine as long as evil held control. But still the adventurers now known as "The Saviors," crossed the treacherous lands and finally reached and found the lake where the creature was downed. There they felt the power of Remddithy'adaz, heard its call when it sensed a power akin to itself. It rose from the bottom of the lake of its own accord, and came to speak to The Saviors, for it was now imbued with the essence and the combined intelligence and wisdom of those who had given their lives to save the world from the rampaging beast. It imparted to them its tale, and sped them off with the power of magic back to the lands controlled by good in time to save the last vestiges of the armies of good from destruction.

In the final battle, hundreds of thousands of those recruited into the armies of Evil were slaughtered by the power of Remddithy'adaz. The Demons and Devils were driven back to the depths of the Abyss and Hell from whence they came. The only thing left of the forces of Evil on the battlefield was ash, Remddithy'adaz had annihilated them all. The balance had more or less been restored to Dark Realm, but at a tremendous cost. The Age of Might had come to an end with this battle. The great Wizards who were the keepers of the strongest magicks were now all dead, their secrets with them, both Good and Evil. Thus was Dark Realm plunged into its darkest period to date, the Dark Age.

Through time, the secret of The Amber Hearthstone became enshrouded in mystery as wars were fought and the landscape of time changed. It now rests in the hands of one of Dark Realms most powerful gods, Talon DoomHammer, and he does not intend on giving it up anytime soon.

Description: The Amber Hearthstone, Remddithy'adaz, is a large globe approximately 12 inches in diameter. Its color is that of hardened tree sap, or Amber, thus the name. When the item is viewed closely, one can discern varying shades of amber swirling around inside the globe. The surface is smooth in places but in the fashion of unworked crystal, some portions of the Hearthstone are rough. The Amber Hearthstone, has been said to vibrate slightly, as if at a low frequency. Others say that they have not felt anything at all. In truth Remddithy'adaz does vibrate when it is communicating with creatures of like alignment, or of goodly alignment. Any evil alignments can not use Remddithy'adaz or communicate with it.

Powers- Remddithy'adaz is primarily a magic enhancer. Any magical effect, spell, innate ability, can be cast into the Amber Hearthstone and it will be multiplied by a factor of 200%. The effect can then be cast out of the Hearthstone, or it can be directed back inward to the user. The only exception to this is when Remddithy'adaz is specifically fighting the creature it was built to destroy, the Taras’qui. When the Amber Hearthstone is fighting this creature, the magic cast through it is then multiplied by a factor of 250%.

The gathered intelligence, wisdom, and personalities of those last remaining warriors and wizards who sacrificed themselves to save the world from the Taras’qui are imprisoned forever in the Amber Hearthstone. They sacrificed themselves willingly and were aware of the consequences when they decided to do so. They are not in a tortured state, in fact, they have merged into one collective intelligence and have become the being known as Remddithy'adaz. Its purpose is to fight evil and when used towards that end it will comply and aid in whatever way it can. The Amber Hearthstone has the power of telepathy and can communicate in any language to its wielder.

In addition, it is possible for one to enter its depths, albeit in an astral form, to visit Remddithy'adaz in his home. It takes supreme concentration and willpower and one must have a high wisdom score to achieve this as well as being of good alignment. In this world, actually a demi-plane of existence where Remddithy'adaz is the only native, Remddithy'adaz’s form is that of a shadowy humanoid, his voice that of male and female together. From this plane of existence, Remddithy'adaz is immortal, and he can watch the planes safely through the ancient and powerful magicks and secrets that the mages of old have gathered unto themselves. It can be said that Remddithy’adaz has become a life-form unknown to any man or humanoid on any of the planes. His power is finite, although great, and time has no meaning to him on his own plane. What would happen to him if the Amber Hearthstone was shattered is a mystery, but to destroy

the item would at least be as tough as destroying an artifact, and Remddithy'adaz can defend itself in ways that most cannot understand.

If evil were to attempt to take control of the artifact they would have to contend with Remddithy'adaz's intelligence of 25 and wisdom of 25 as well. Any evil creature touching the Amber Hearthstone must save vs. Death or die instantly. No resurrection is possible even with the use of a wish spell.