In Summary: The campaign is based on the continent of Kaleth. The Old Kingdom fell after a century and descended into the six year “Banner War” during which new leaders who called themselves Thanes laid claim on lands they called Freeholds. At the end of the six years, open war ended but the conflict continued. It has been 4 years since the Banner Wars ended. There are currently 9 Thanes, each leading a Freehold, several independent settlements and an unknown number of Warlords and Bandit Kings.
Kaleth has been home to several Kingdoms even an Empire at one point but eventually all collapsed under their own weight.
Most recently, Maroth, had managed to unite most of Kaleth under the purple, red and gold of banner of the hawk. For more than a century the Emrik Kings kept the peace, and the Realm was prosperous.
Baros, the last Emrik King, overextended his resources by trying to use force to bring the few independent regions of Kaleth under his control.
With the King’s hold on his Realm weakened, the ambitions of pretenders led them to maneuver for more personal power. Baros was a poor statesman who lacked the finesse to give the most dangerous lords just enough to placate them. Instead, he chose to take a hard line despite his ability to back up his threats.
The Kingdom fell and war consumed the land. For six years, during what are now called the Banner Wars, borders were drawn and redrawn. Freeholds came and went. Thousands died. In the end, we were left with the nine we have now, each led by a Thane, many of whom had been Lords of Maroth.
During the Banner Wars, would-be Thanes struggled to find whatever allies they could to give them the edge they needed to persevere. Under the Emrik Kings, the policy had been “coexistence” - the other peoples were not subjects, they were granted lands of their own and lived side by side with their human neighbors.
The Thanes offered more than benign neglect. They invited these independent peoples to be a part of their Freeholds, to be stakeholders. They would enjoy the same benefits and protections as any other subject.
Some, like the Hearthlanders, were quick to join, guaranteeing success and stability to Omal. Others, like the Uruks of Gharash, decided that they would claim a Freehold for themselves and name their own Thane. The most fiercely isolationist peoples such as the Wyldlings of the western woods had no interest in change and let it be known that the considered their lands independent as they had always been.
The Thanes needed more than the participation of these other peoples. They needed whatever advantages they could muster if they were to survive.
Religion was one such rallying point. Some Thanes suddenly found their faith and began erecting grand temples to gods whose favor they hoped would help them emerge victorious. The Gods of War became very popular.
Another weapon that could be wielded by a Thane with the right allies was magic. Iandir’s most effective forces are the Adepts of the Word, sorcerers who spells tear through the armor of their opponents as if it weren’t even there. The Thane of Gharash is advised by Nharus Omenborn, a powerful wizard whose dark arts have guided her forces to victory against what seemed to be impossible odds.
The Emrik Kings of Maroth had been content to leave much of Kaleth wild. They built where they needed, let other cultures stand on their own and had no interest in expanding to fill every mile. The Banner Wars were a turning point. The Thanes were insatiable and pushed into unexplored and wild lands.
Bandits and raiders have become a persistent threat to merchants and travelers as have monsters that were roused when we disturbed the shadows.
The six years of the Banner Wars were chaos. The hard truth is that the things are better, but not by much.
There is no open, ongoing war but there isn’t exactly peace either. There are still border skirmishes and many of the Thanes are not content with the lands they ended up with. Worse still, there are Warlords who didn’t manage to seize control of enough lands to become Thanes who struggle to carve out holds for themselves.
