For specific information about the setting, please see the main V2 page.

The purpose of this location is to provide access to all the standard adventure possibilities. It is within traveling distance of advanced cities, as well as wild lands filled with monsters. It is also a region of my world which has (so far) been only lightly used.

Stereotypical D&D with a dose of reality

I want this campaign to involve dungeon crawls and tavern brawls. I want it to have skulking assassins on the dock front and hidden, evil temples in the sewers. There will be kobold lairs and orc invasions and dragon raids on remote villages.

However, throughout all this, I want as much “reality” as possible. If the Lizardfolk leave their Mosamor Marsh and raid an outpost outside Southbay, the people are going to be yelling at the local baron to find out why. If a wizard blows up an outhouse with a fireball, there's going to be an investigation. Actions will have consequences and politics will influence the story more than the game rules. If you meet and kill a group of alleged bandits, you might risk criminal charges from their clan.

Most importantly, I want to avoid epic stories. This campaign will overall be on a relatively low power base. The local region will have perhaps only one or two NPCs in double-digit levels. But more importantly, monsters are things that exist in the fringe wilderness or the ocean (though they sometimes pop up in the sewers and/or traveling freak shows). If a goblin wanders into town, it's a big deal. If a Dragon flies overhead, people panic. Undead should not be expected in every cemetery.

Standard PHB Races preferred

I want the party to have a semblance of “normalcy”. Half-orcs are about as much of an outcast as I'm willing to allow. In other words, I don't want your race to be so exotic as to draw attention everywhere you go.

As with most regions on my world, Humans are the dominant race. The other PHB races are present in smaller numbers - but not so few that they stop conversation when they enter a bar.

In the interest of full disclosure, I should point out that this restriction has been violated already by at least three of the players. So, if you really have to run a freak race, let me know and I'll see what we can do.

No restrictions on class selection.

I'm not too concerned about classes - though I haven't read all the new rulebooks. If it's not a PHB class, I reserve the right to at least wrinkle my nose at your choice.

Asgardian mythos preferred, Others OK.

For Human characters, any of the Asgardian (Norse) gods would be a good fit. The Celtic gods (not listed in the new rulebooks) would be a good second choice. Olympian (Greek) and Pharaonic (Egyptian) are good third choices. Beyond that will require some discussion.

As with all my campaigns, Evil PCs are not allowed. I always prefer Good, Heroic characters, but I understand that not everybody has the same world-view that I do.

My main concern is party unity (more on that below).

Characters should come from poor backgrounds. Adventuring might be seen as a way out of poverty. Managing finances will dominate the non-combat sessions for the first few levels. By then, hopefully the party will be entwined in a larger story. (Sadly, the game requires large amounts of money starting at the mid-levels, so poverty cannot remain a story element for long).

Tight group from the same region preferred

One big goal here is to narrow the focus of the story. Instead of traveling to new places every game, I want to spend the first few levels in a very tight geographic area. I want there to be recurring NPCs and organizations that factor into the overall story.

To this end, I'd prefer that the characters all came from the same town or village. Additionally, they should at least be familiar with each other before the first adventure. An exception or two is expected, but will require discussion beforehand.

I'd also prefer to avoid the big city for the start. Eventually, of course, the characters will need to go there - but not for a few sessions at least. The center of the campaign will be a “Small Town” (population less than 2,000, gp limit 800, see DMG, p.137). It is on the coast, so consider the sea when designing your characters.

Secret origins and family relationships are encouraged. Just try not to go overboard with arcane.

One idea for the origin story: The town has been hit hard by an economic downturn or similar calamity, so all the characters are people without a job and without prospects. With the local mill/fishing-grounds/mines tapped out, your families are getting desperate. Then, along comes this guy with a way to MAKE MONEY FAST! (This is, of course, only one idea. If you have other ideas, please speak up).

The Chaos of recent world history will be a story element.

Overall, the world has changed dramatically over the last decade. Entire nations have fallen and the rules of magic have been altered – perhaps forever. While Rota seems to have survived the chaos, the burden of refugees has made life hard for everyone – both economically and socially.

Locally, some of the powerful northern barons have been waging wars on their neighbors while the ineffectual “boy-king”, Galin, is forced to sit and watch. These wars have not yet grown to be more than border skirmishes, but diplomacy is going nowhere and the fear is that they will escalate over the next few years and engulf even the southern valley.

The calendar will be advanced by a year or two for this campaign. Voyager started in January, 1108 and will conclude sometime after Spring, 1109. This new campaign will start in January, 1111. In addition, I intend to advance the game calendar roughly in sync with the real calendar. Thus, the story will begin at roughly the same time of year as the first game session and will advance at an average of two weeks per game. (Obviously, some sessions will be grouped together into a short time - but this will be made up by longer periods of downtime).

Civilized Vikings.

The inspiration for the “kingdom” of Rota is civilized Vikings. Raiding nearby territories is no longer considered “normal”, but the society is still strongly built around clans. The legal system (such that it is) is little more than a semi-codified vendetta law.

The home town, StillSquall, is a small, close-knit community, with few resources. It is a coastal town – so the sea (and the associated industries) can play a major role in your backstories.

The government (such as it is) benefits the wealthy, though the peasants are (generally) looked after and nobody really complains. The religious organizations are fairly weak and don't influence politics much. Organized crime exists, but is not public and not well organized. There is no such thing as a Thieves' Guild (which is mostly true throughout my world).

For character names, think Scandinavian (at least for the humans), with the British Isles as a secondary influence. Here are some possible ideas:

• http://www.vikinganswerlady.com/ONNames.shtml
• http://www.behindthename.com/nmc/nor.php
• http://www.babynames.org.uk/norwegian-baby-names.htm
• http://www.babynamesworld.com/norwegian_names_1.html

In my opinion, D&D loses its luster at around 15th level (and becomes essentially unplayable by 20th level). Couple this with the fact that the typical new level arrives about every four to six game sessions, and you'll see that any campaign has a lifespan of from 60-120 games. (Case in point: The Voyager campaign ended at game #90).

With a two-week gaming schedule, there will be about 25 games per year, so a 60-game campaign will last just under three years. Since V2 started at the beginning of 2007, we can therefore expect it to last until late 2009.

Here's the quick run-down of levels and months that I foresee: (Assumes four sessions per level – Actuals are in bold)