Contradictory

Show me your scars

and I'll show you mine.

This isn't a contest,

there isn't a prize.

This is honesty.

Truth.

The bearing of souls.

Show me your wounds,

and I'll sew them closed.

Show me your love

and I'll look away.

Love is fatal to me,

a basilisk's gaze.

It turns me to stone.

Leaves me deaf.

Leaves me dumb.

Say that you love me,

and I'll say that we're done.

Show me some kindness,

some bit of regard,

I'll share mine with you,

although it can be hard.

I'm no dainty flower.

No silky soft rose.

My kindness has edges,

to keep you on your toes.

Show me these words,

bitter as salt.

Bruising. Confusing.

Tasty as chalk.

I will not deny them,

because they are true.

If you still want to talk?

Well, that's up to you.

Lux Tenebris: The Narnola Swamp

The Narnola Swamp covers almost 5000 square miles along the southern coast of Nur.  It is a swampy morass, birthed where the Narnola River and the brackish waters of the Gulf of Promises meet and mix. Most of the terrain is impassable, except by boat, but there are solid paths that lead through the swamp known by the natives. Most of these paths, however, are circutious and indirect, so travel by boat is often quicker, easier and safer.

The Narnola Swamp

The swamp is home to a wide variety of creatures. Most are quite average (rats, poisonous snakes, swarms of insects), but some are more deadly. Something about the swamp seems to enhance ordinary creatures and it is not uncommon to encounter giant versions of ordinary animals, such as rats, spiders and crocodiles. More rarely, truly monstrous creatures are encountered, such as shambling mounds and water elementals.  Centuries ago, a black dragon called Arranir claimed the Narnola Swamp as his territory but he met his death at the hands of a party of adventurers. Only one adventurer survived to tell the tale, and he died shortly afterward. But locals tell tales of a ghostly dragon seen moving through the swamp on dark nights, still hunting for the adventurers that killed him.

The Narnala Swamp is inhabited. Although most of its residents are human, the swamp is famous, some would say infamous, for being one of the few places in Nur with a native population of goblins.

The goblins of the Narnola Swamp are known as webfoot goblins. They have lived there so long that they have adapted to the terrain, and can move across the swampy ground with little difficulties. (In game terms, swampfoot goblins can move across swamp-type, difficult terrain with no penalty to their movement speed.)

The history of the swampfoot goblins is curious. When humans first arrived in the area, moving inland from the coast, the swampfoot goblins were already established in the swamp. Their own oral histories hinted that they had fled V'resh centuries before the humans, but there was nothing in their history to tell why they had left.

Most of the goblins in the Narnola Swamp live in or around the village of Iono. Iono is the goblin word for 'home' and about three-hundred people reside in Iono.  About 80% of Iono's population consists of webfoot goblins, while the remainder consists mostly of humans. The buildings are mostly small, reed huts built on wooden platforms or in the branches of trees. Although Iono is built on high ground, it does occassionally flood during the rainy season.

Iono is led by Iximor Grom (L9 Goblin Champion).  Although Iximor grew up in the swamp, he left for a while, traveling along the western coast of Nur, working as a professional gladiator. Eventually, he returned home and became the de facto leader of Iono.  He doesn't care much for the folk outside the swamp, or interlopers who would seek to prey on the swampfolk.

The only other community of any size in the swamp is Nymyra, a village of about 450 residents. Nymyra's population consists largely of humans, but there are gnomes, goblins, halflings and others residing in it as well. Strife and conflict are rare among the population. Appropriate since Nymyra means 'harmony.'

Like Iono, Nymyra is built on high ground. Unlike, their neighbors, however, Nymyra seldom floods. Buildings are constructed as either log cabins, reed huts or clapboard houses. A stout wooden palisade surrounds Nymyra to keep out predators.  The single gate is guarded all day and closed at sunset.

Nymyra is led by a five-person council, its members elected every three years by village residents. Residency requires someone to have made their home in the village for at least one year.

The current head of the village council is Dorum Aleman(L8 Human Wizard). Dorum owns and operates The Green Swan, the only tavern/inn in the entire Narnola Swamp. In his youth, Dorum felt a calling to serve Iorne, the goddess of magic. He served as an accolyte in her temple in Moontree, before receiving word that his father and elder brothers had died of fever. Dorum left the temple to return home and care for his mother and the family business, but retained the favor of Iorne and is quite the competant wizard.

There are other settlements in the swamp, but they tend to be small and somewhat isolated. The swampfolk are very self-sufficient and require very little from the outside world. However, there is some trade and commerce.  The swamp produces plants and animals that are used in certain arcane spells, and there is the occasional party of adventurers who venture into the swamp and need guides and transport.

Lux Tenebris: Somek

Somek, God of the Undead

Somek is the son of Elleru, Goddess of the Earth & the Underworld, and Rovelek, God of the Dead.
His half-sister is Arymat, Goddess of Misfortune.

Somek is the God of the Undead, the patron of necromancers and sentient undead. He is also referred to as the Defiler of the Grave and the Enemy of the Dead.

Somek's current relationship with his father is adversarial, but it was not always that way. For centuries, Somek aided his father in his duties as God of the Dead. But when the All-Fiend rose against the gods, Somek was captured and imprisoned.

The All-Fiend sent word to Rovelek that if the God of the Dead would ally with him, Somek would not be harmed and would be set free.  Rovelek refused.

As a result, the All-Fiend tortured Somek, disfiguring the left side of his face. As he tormented Somek, the All-Fiend told him, in painful detail, of the offer he had made to his father and his father's refusal.  The All-Fiend painted a picture where all of Somek's suffering could be laid at his father's feet.

Eventually, the All-Fiend was defeated and his various divine prisoners were freed. Rovelek himself broke the chains binding his son.  And although Somek understood his father's reasons for refusing to ally with the All-Fiend, he has not forgiven him for the choice that he made.

Rovelek, for his part, was unused to being judged by anyone and grew cold toward Somek. The two of them no longer worked together to guide the dead to their afterlives.  Instead, Somek chose to use his knowledge of Rovelek's domain to steal damned and damaged souls and return them to the living world as undead.

Rovelek grew incensed when he learned what Somek had done and the two came to blows, much to the horror of the other gods.  The two have opposed each other ever since.

Somek is described as a thin, sallow-skinned man with long dark hair. The left side of his face was horribly ravaged by the All-Fiend and Somek bears the scars of those wounds to this day. When he manifests on the material plane, he is always surrounded by shadows, to better conceal his disfigurement.

Somek is worshipped primarily by sentient undead, such as liches and vampires, as well as by mortals who seek to become undead.  He has no public temples and most nation-states ban his public worship, but he has a small, dedicated priesthood and many hidden shrines.

The few clerics that Somek empowers usually choose the Death Domain, while the very rare Paladin of Somek will most often take an Oath of Vengeance.

Somek's symbol is a black ouroboros, an ebon serpent eating its own tail.

Lux Tenebris: The Gray Wardens

Yrella made her way through the night, confident that there was nothing to fear in the dark. After all, there was little that could still harm her, in this world or the next, thanks to the blessings of Rovelek.

As she returned to her territory, she was aware of the lingering dead. Most were recent, slain during the Draconic Legions' march through the region. Some were older. Souls still bound to the earthly plain by pain and longing, attachments that bound them to the material world, compelling them to ignore the sweet surrender that the God of the Dead offered.

And, beyond them, as always, Yrella could sense the enemy stirring, roused by all the recent death and chaos the dragonborn had brought to this land. Yrella could sense his presence,like a fetid stink, rising around her.

Somek. Defiler of the Grave. Enemy of the Dead.

She ran her chain through her hand, spinning it expertly. Her spirit blazed and, if it had still been possible, her heart would have pounded in anticipation.

If the Defiler, or his spawn, dared appear in these lands again, she and the other Gray Wardens would be waiting, to send them to their dooms.

The Gray Wardens are priests of Rovelek, the God of the Dead, who sacrificed their mortal lives in service to the god. Their devotion was so great, their self-sacrifice so pure, that the God of the Dead resurrected them to continue their service to him as members of his Gray Wardens.

The Gray Wardens are not undead. Whereas undead are created via necromancy, the Gray Wardens are revived by the divine intent of Rovelek himself.  It is devine, radiant energy that raises them up and sustains them in service to their god.

This power leaves its mark on the Gray Wardens. Their skin and eyes possess an eerie luminosity that many other creatures find distracting or unnerving. For this reason, Gray Wardens typically wear long shroud-like robes when interacting with others.

As a symbol of their devotion to Rovelek, the Gray Wardens also wear chains. Some of these chains are purely ceremonial and decorative, but some fuction as practical weapons. For many Gray Wardens, their chains are the only physical weapon they weild.

The Gray Wardens are all Clerics of Rovelek. Players who wish to play a Gray Warden must play a cleric.  Multiclassing, however, is allowed.

The Gray Wardens have several special traits, listed below:

Blessed Nature. A Gray Warden does not require food, water, air or sleep to survive.

Necrotic Resistance.  Gray Wardens have resistance to necrotic damage.

Regeneration. A Gray Warden regain 20 hit points at the start of her turn if she has at least 1 hit point.

In addition to these special traits, Gray Wardens possess the standard cleric abilities, but a Divine Domain unique to them.

Gray Warden Domain Spells

1st Level         Charm Person, Sleep

3rd Level         Dark Vision, Invisibility

5th Level         Nondetection, Suggestion

7th Level         Greater Invisibility, Hallucinatory Terrain

9th Level         Antilife Shell, Telekinesis

Bonus Proficiency.

At 1st level, Gray Wardens gain proficiency with their chain weapon.  This weapon deals

1d4 bludgeoning damage and has the following properties: Reach, Special, Versatile(1d8), Finesse.

Death-Aware.

At 1st level, you gain the power to sense the presence of the dead and undead within one mile of you. And although you can differentiate between a restless spirit and an undead monster, you cannot identify what sort of specific undead you sense with this ability.

Channel Divinity: Death's Mercy

Starting at 2nd level, you can use your Channel Divinity to heal the badly injured.

As an action, you present your holy symbol and evoke healing energy that can restore a number of hit points equal to five times your cleric level in a single individual. You cannot use this feature on an undead or a construct.

Aura of Protection

Starting at 6th level, whenever you or a friendly creature within 10 feet of you must make a saving throw, the creature gains a bonus to the saving throw equal to your Charisma modifier (with a minimum bonus of +1).  You must be conscious to grant this bonus.

Divine Strike

At 8th level, you gain the ability to infuse your melee attacks with divine energy. Once on each of your turns when you hit a creature with a melee attack, you can cause the attack to deal an extra 1d8 radiant damage to the target. When you reach 14th level, the extra damage increases to 2d8.

Rovelek's Revenge

Starting at 17th level, you can use your action to project an aura of divine light around yourself that lasts for 1 minute or until you dismiss it using another action. You emit bright light in a 60-foot radius and dim light 30 feet beyond that. Any undead creature or necromancer within that area has disadvantage on attacks and saving throws for the duration.

Lux Tenebris: Fairhill

Population: 3719

Demographics: Human (66%), Halflings (23%), Gnomes (7%), Dwarves (3%), Other Races (1%)

Fairhill is the largest community in the Southlands and one of the oldest. It was established over six hundred years ago by the Phoenix Kingdom and survived the kingdom's collapse four centuries ago.  Today, Fairhill serves as a nexus of culture, trade and diplomacy within the Southlands.  It also serves as the headquarters of the Knights of the Phoenix Crown, a militant order granted wide-ranging powers by the Compact of Three Rivers.

Fairhill occupies the highest point of land in the area and offers spectacular views of the surrounding area. It would be almost impossible for a hostile force to take Fairhill by surprise. The community is surrounded by a tall, stout wall of fitted stone. Entrance is granted by only two gates, which are heavily defended.

At the center of Fairhill lies the Bastion, an ancient fortress. The Bastion functions as the headquarters of the Knights of the Pheonix Crown, and also serves as a fallback for the citizenry in the unlikely event that the town walls are breached.

Fairhill and the surrounding area is ruled by the Delselors, a noble family that can trace its origins back to the founding of the Phoenix Kingdom.  The current Lord Fairhill is Ariel "Ari" Delselor. However, since Lord Fairhill is only five-years-old, his uncle, Sir Ephram Delselor, is acting as his regent until the young lord reaches the age of maturity.

Other prominent members of Fairhill's community include:

Lady Galena Sylvereve, L14 Human Noble

STR     06 (-2)             DEX    10 (+0)                        CON   11 (+0)

INT     12 (+1)                        WIS     16 (+3)                        CHA   15 (+2)

HP       73

Languages: Common, Elvish, Halfling

Skills: History +6, Persuasion +7

Tool Proficiencies: Cards +5

Feat: Position of Privilege

Lady Sylvereve is the widow of a Knight of the Phoenix Crown. The daughter of a minor aristocratic family, Lady Sylvereve had an adventurous youth before setteling down to become wife and mother.  She is good friends with Sir Delselor and hosts a weekly salon in her home that attracts a range of colorful and interesting individuals from Fairhill and beyond.

Secret Info: During her adventurous youth, Lady Sylvereve had an affair with an elf that resulted in a child. This half-elf son has been raised in Fallen Baramir. If the affair was revealed it would be somewhat scandalous, but if the existence of the child was exposed Lady Sylvereve could find herself ostracized from polite society and possibly disowned by her family.

William Murmur, L8 Human Artisan

STR     14 (+2)                        DEX    14 (+2)                        CON   10 (+0)

INT     10 (+0)                        WIS     15 (+2)                        CHA   10 (+0)

HP       43

Languages: Common, Dwarvish, Halfling

Skills: Insight +5, Persuasion +3

Tools: Mason's tools +3

Feat: Guild Membership

Master William Murmur is a large, gray-haired man who doesn't speak very much, but has a great deal of influence among Fairhill's various guilds.  Murmur is the head of the Mason's Guild, one of the most important guilds in the town, as they are responsible for the upkeep of the town wall, the Bastion and various public buildings. Even-tempered and quiet, Murmur caused a bit of a stir a few years ago when he married a dwarf woman and they adopted several children. However, since then the community has accepted this unusual family and even embraced them.

Secret Info: Murmur is the son of travelers, a fact most folk have forgotten about. He isn't ashamed of his background, but isn't proud of his family, who are infamous conmen. If they were to come back to Fairhill, or attempt to contact him, and his connection with them was revealed, it could have a negative impact on his status with the local community.

Ulrin Greenhall, L6 Strongarm Halfling Merchant

STR     11 (+0)                        DEX    15 (+2)                        CON   10 (+0)

INT     10 (+0)                        WIS     10 (+0)                        CHA   17 (+3)

HP       33

Traits: Luck, Brave, Halfling Nimblness, Strongarm Weapon Training

Languages: Common, Dwarvish, Halfling

Skill Proficiencies: Insight +3, Persuasion +6

Tool Proficiencies: Vehicles(Land)

Weapon Proficiencies: Shortsword, +8 to hit; deals 1d6 +2 piercing.

Feat: Guild Membership

Ulrin Greenhall is head of the Guild of Glassworkers in Fairhill and he also serves as Master of Guilds, an influential position that requires him to coordinate contracts and work between the town's various guilds. Unmarried and wealthy, he has something of a reputation as a ladies' man and can often be seen squiring attractive women about Fairhill.

Secret Info: Ulrin Greenhall is a devoted follower of Reined, the God of Mischief. He serves his god by spreading rumors and misinformation, usually to his own benefit. If his faith was ever discovered it could cost him everything, his wealth, his position and his reputation. Indeed, it could even cost him his life.

Father Aric Foghall, L13 Lightfoot Halfling  & Priest of Ratava

STR     10 (+0)                        DEX    10 (+0)                        CON   10 (+0)

INT     10 (+0)                        WIS     15 (+2)                        CHA   16 (+3)
HP       68

Traits: Lucky, Brave, Halfling Nimbleness, Naturally Stealthy

Languages: Celestial, Common, Halfling, Primordial

Skills: Insight +7, Religion +5

Feat: Shelter of the Faithful

Father Aric is a handsome halfling man with warm brown eyes, dark blonde hair and an easy smile. Because he is a priest of Ratava, the Goddess of Pleasures, most other halflings find him a bit . . . odd.  But Aric Foghall grew up alone, on the streets, scrambling just to survive. Coming from a history of privation, Father Aric understands that pleasure is more nuanced than most people realize. That it isn't just an end unto itself, but it can be something to coax and goad a person to greater success in life. He understands that the pleasure one gets from reading a good book or eating a fine meal is just as meaningful as that derived from sex.

Secret Info: Father Aric doesn't have any secrets of his own, but he is privy to the secrets of others. People have confided intimate things to the priest, mostly seeking reassurance that there is nothing wrong with their desires. As such, Father Aric knows things about some of Fairhill's residents that could be embarrassing or devastating if the information was shared.

Azorna Dajir, L6 Human Folk Hero

STR     17 (+3)                        DEX    12 (+1)                        CON   11 (+0)

INT     11 (+0)                        WIS     11 (+0)                        CHA   13 (+1)

HP       33

Languages: Common, Halfling

Skills: Animal Handling +3, Survival +3

Tools: Woodcarver's tools, Vehicles(Land)

Feat: Rustic Hospitality

Fairhill tends to attract all manner of travelers, but few made the impact that Azorna Dajir did upon her arrival. The nineteen-year-old daughter of farmers slain during the Draconic invasion, Azorna organized the survivors from her village into a ruthless fighting force. Stories of their exploits reached Fairhill and, after the legions were destroyed, she was invited to join the Knights of the Phoenix Crown.  Azorna has come to Fairhill, but has not committed to the Knights. She feels she is still too angry and griefstruck and is considering heading north, to join the forces mustering at Fallen Baramir.

Secret Info: Azorna Dajir is the last living descendant of King Rochard, the last King of the Phoenix Kingdom. Azorna is unaware of this, but she has her suspiciouns. Omens and portents manifest around her with disturbing regularity, hinting that she is destined for greatness.