Welcome to “Orden’s Mysteries”
Chapter One: Introduction
“It is a strange world we live in. We have the power and wealth to rule this world, build mighty works and live in peace and comfort, but what do we do? We bicker among ourselves about the nature of our power, split ourselves up in all these tiny factions with their petty theories and ultimately give up so much power that even those scheming power-lusting nobles of pathetic Armindor can keep us in check. We must cast aside our doubts. Embrace the unlimited power of magic even as you don’t know where it comes from! Do not scowl when it fails you sometimes, but look at what you have already achieved, and just try again with better odds! We shall unite all mages, we shall cast out all those strange Source of Magic-theories, we shall have unimaginable power and we shall conquer this world!”
-Targin Godenwin, Errator, speaking to a conference of magicians of all kinds in the Mage-Republic of Mador“I trust it is evident to everyone here that mages like my colleague Targin here are a grave danger to the community of magicians at large. As we have all been able to see the magic worked by these Erratores can not be trusted to work when it is needed, and sometimes even fails completely, leading to some unintended result that could destroy months of work by the caster and his accomplices. Obviously, magic should be explored with great caution, at a slow pace, and most importantly, with great reverence to the eternal force of Madja that provides it. Let us all pray, and work together in discovering the endless mysteries and treasures Madja will give us.”
-Danirian, priest-mage of the felion, in response
This campaign setting is the result of my attempt to shoehorn the rather generic homebrew world I have DMed in since my first time playing D&D into a consistent and themed campaign setting. For this purpose I have decided on a few core themes. First, the importance of religion and mythology. Second, the importance of history. Third, the role of magic. Fourth, the role of political intrigue. And last but not least, the removal of alignment. All of these serve to emphasize a high level of roleplaying in an Orden-campaign. For a more detailed description of these themes, use the "Themes" link at the top of the page. In general, you can use these links to navigate this setting, and read about the topic(s) that interest you.
Note: This campaign setting was first published in a forum thread on the website of Wizards of the Coast. This thread can be found here: Orden's Mysteries. If at any time while reading about this setting you encounter phrases such as "this post" or references to commentary made by other people, I probably carelessly copy-pasted the text from the forum. My apologies. Two other threads on the Wizards of the Coast boards are relevant to the development of this campaign setting: Democracy?! and Removing alignment.
Contact: To comment on this setting (I appreciate commentary in any form, whether it's positive, negative or if you've only read a very small part of the setting) you can either:
a) post in my thread on the Wizards of the Coast boards, or in the comments thread here at the Campaign Builders' Guild,
b) send me an email at turinthemormegil@gmail.com,
c) send a Private Message to the account TúrintheMormegil at the Wizards of the Coast boards or the account Túrin here at the Campaign Builders' Guild.