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Odyssey of the Dragonlords
Primer & Character Options
The Oath of Peace that has long held the powerful god-like Titans at bay is coming to an end. When it does their vengeance would be felt by untold thousands. War will come to Thylea. Take the role of heroes of the apocalypse, in the Ancient Greek inspired realm of Thylea, where the gods walk amongst you. Almost five hundred years ago, the legendary Dragonlords forged an unbreakable oath of peace with the titans lasting… 500 years. With mere months remaining of that golden age, the oracle Versi predicts the world’s ruin, with only a group of fated individuals standing in its way. You.
Odyssey of the Dragonlords summary
1-20+: Quite possible for play beyond 20 using epic boons and the like.
Politics: Low but not entirely absent.
Roleplaying: Medium to high.
Tactics (as in combat): Medium to high.
Player Expectations:
This is a heroic campaign. You shall become heroes of legend, fighting with and against the very Gods. Some among you may even ascend and become Gods themselves.
This is a Naval campaign. Expect to spend a lot of time on a ship, crewed by your allies and friends, all distinct personalities that love to sing shanties. Ship to ship combat will be a possibility using the rules of the Saltmarsh book.
This is a Greek campaign. I shall be providing traditional accents, references and possibly a plate breaking minigame.
This campaign was written by the writers of ye olde good Bioware games, and as such, it manages to be pretty open without being a straight-up sandbox. The world is very rich and detailed, and while delaying might doom the world you can always take a step back, go to the beach, explore unknown lands and meet exotic people called Giannis.
Character Creation:
Races and Class options:
There are three types of races in this module. The settler races are not native to Thylea and instead arrived from elsewhere. The native races are well…native. And finally, the cursed races are the result of some magic meddling. More races can be included (Firbolg, Tabaxi, etc) if you want to make a case for it but we’d have to sit down and work them in.
| Settler Races | Native Races | Cursed Races |
|---|---|---|
| Humans | Centaurs | Medusa |
| Dragonborn | Nymphs | Minotaurs |
| Aasimar | Satyr | |
| Siren | ||
| Tortle | ||
| Aarakokra | ||
| Amazons (Goliaths) |
Subclass Options:
Any from the usual books like the PHB, Xanathers, sword coast, etc, and the Odyssey source book itself. Discuss all choices with me, just I can point you to where your subclass likely would hail from if there is any question. The subclasses in the source book are all fantastic and thematic as hell and you should absolutely check them out, but we can definitely work other things in.
Playtest and Homebrew:
Since this campaign deviates from the normal power level so much, and has so many homebrew subclasses and races, I will generally not be allowing homebrew options unless there’s a good justification. Sell it to me if you’re really keen.
Ability Scores:
27 points for point buy. Here’s a point buy calculator in case you need it: http://chicken-dinner.com/5e/5e-point-buy.html .
Starting wealth: As RAW. Either roll for it or pick from the starting items.
Starting level: Level 1. Feel the PAIN.
Starting Place: Decide whether you are from this land (recommended) or have recently been brought to it (This may require picking a unique race).
Starting Rumors: Write your character’s name at the top of three separate notecards. On each notecard, write one rumor about your character that circulates in Thylea’s taverns. These may be rumors of your heroic exploits, ribald jokes about your past exploits, or even mean-spirited gossip. At least one of these rumors must be true, but the others may be exaggerations or outright fabrications. Give the three notecards to the GM before the start of the first adventure. Don’t tell the other players what you have written!
Starting relationships: Do you know each other? Happy to have 2 players have a prior relationship.
Epic Paths: Each player is to pick one of the epic path options listed in the booklet pinned in the discord chat. It is best if each option is only taken once annd I would like if you all talked with each other to avoid any sad faces. These are separate from your Background, which you choose as normal. If the flavour of the two conflicts the Epic path’s flavour wins.
Party introduction: You have all individually been summoned by the famous nymph Oracle Versi, who believes you have a part to play in halting the impending apocalypse.
Individual Character Backstory: The backbone of Greek myths are gods, kings, oaths, curses, fame, hubris, fate, prophecy, comedy and tragedy. Try to incorporate a couple of these into your backstory and you’ll get a very thematic hero.
Individual Intro Session: I will be doing individual one-on-one sessions with each character prior to their meeting the Oracle Versi. The nature of these sessions will be unique to the character involved.
Who Are You: You are one of the heroes who has been called by the Oracle's prophecy to save the world from the tyranny of the Titans. Whatever your personal background, you know that you are destined for greatness. Thylea World Primer: The World of Thylea: Thylea is a small continent surrounded on all sides by an ocean called the Forgotten Sea. The natives of Thylea are centaurs, cyclopes, gygans, nymphs, satyrs, and other fey races. Thousands of human, elven, and dwarven settlers arrived in Thylea five hundred years ago. • Oaths. Oaths are taken very seriously in Thylea. The punishments for violating an oath are severe. • Curses. Breaking oaths or violating the laws of Thylea may cause you to be afflicted by dreadful curses. • Natives. Centaurs, satyrs, nymphs, and other native races live and work alongside the settler races. The peace with their many tribes is precarious.
The Titans: Thylea is named after the mother goddess who watches over the continent. She and her husband, Kentimane the Hundred Handed, bore many children. These ancient gods form a pantheon called “the Titans.” The two most powerful of their children are: • Sydon, Lord of Storms Sydon is the ancient Titan who once ruled over Thylea, long before the arrival of mortals. He seeks to dominate the land once again—to be worshipped by all mortals. He controls all the waters of Thylea, including the weather, and sacrifices must be offered to him daily. • Lutheria, Mistress of Death Lutheria is the sister-wife of Sydon. She has dominion over the underworld, and she seeks to corrupt mortals and capture their souls for her own amusement. In spite of this, she is honored by frequent sacrifices and wine festivals throughout the land.
The Dragonlords: For many ages, Thylea was a wilderness of centaurs, satyrs, cyclopes, and other creatures who worshipped the Titans. Mortals who came to Thylea lived in small, defenseless tribes—until the arrival of the Dragonlords. The Dragonlords were an order of heroic, dragon-riding mortals who came to Thylea five centuries ago. They initiated the First War against the Titans and defeated their armies. Most of the Dragonlords and their dragons were killed during this conflict.
The Five Gods: When all seemed lost, the mortals of Thylea were saved by the sudden appearance of the Five Gods, who walked the land in mortal guise. They forced the Titans into a temporary truce, called the Oath of Peace. • Kyrah, Goddess of Music • Mytros, Goddess of Dawn • Pythor, God of Battle • Vallus, Goddess of Wisdom • Volkan, God of the Forge
The Oath of Peace: The Oath of Peace has prevented open warfare with the Titans for five hundred years. But now, the truce is ending. The power of the Five Gods wanes, and the Titans prepare to wage war upon mortals once again.
The Oracles Prophecy: The Oracle is a water nymph named Versi. She is Thylea's most famous prophet, and she has recently had a terrifying vision of the future. She has called for a band of mortal heroes to join together to confront the Titans.
The Mortal Kingdoms: • The Kingdom of Mytros was the first kingdom founded by the Dragonlords. It is the largest city in all of Thylea and the center of commerce, religion, and politics. The ruler of Mytros is King Acastus, one of the last descendants of the Dragonlords. • The City of Estoria is an ancient stronghold that has resisted centuries of attacks by centaurs, cyclopes, manticores, and other dangers which thrive in the steppes. The ruler of Estoria is King Pythor, the God of Battle. • The Kingdom of Aresia has long been a rival to the kingdom of Mytros. The two cities have been engaged in dozens of wars over the last several hundred years, which are collectively known as the Aresian campaigns. The ruler of Aresia is Queen Helen.
Other:
Variant/Optional Rules: None just yet. Any recommendations welcome.
Content Warning: The morality in this module is not akin to our modern take. There will be cruelty, there will be evil and there will be injustice. Additionally, animal sacrifice is an important part of this culture.
For example, in the Argonautica, Jason and crew were being pursued by an enemy fleet so they got a fancy idea. They had a prisoner, a royal baby, that belonged to the enemies, so they cut it up in pieces, tossed it in the river which delayed the enemy fleet as they had to pick up all the pieces.
They are the good guys!