The Thirteenth Age (5649 - Now (6003))

In the Thirteenth Age, 13 Icons struggle for the fate of the Dragon Empire, which rules the area where the Campaign is set. But for all their power, the Icons are not gods and mortal men have the power to shape their own destinies... or be ground underfoot by their own bad decisions.

It is 3 years since the 6000 anniversary of the Coronation of the First Emperor; many people predicted something would happen, whether a great blessing or a curse, or possibly the Orc Lord pulling the trigger on invading the Empire. Instead... the Empire held grand games in every city and a literal two week long feast in which everyone glutted themselves like mad. In the Great Cities, each day featured some dish from one of the Ages. On the final day, celebrants could sample dishes 'from Ages yet to come', prophesied by the Priestess.

Some pundits pointed to the time problems of the Third Age and the weird way the Twelfth Age ended to argue that we were a fair amount past the year 6000, and that's why the only thing of grand import was a giant party.

Many now expect when the Orc Lord does launch his kunitori, that will mark the end of the Age. But it's been a quiet enough one... by Imperial standards, that few want to see it go.

But if there is anything that 6000 years of history has taught the people of the Empire, it is this -- nothing lasts forever, not darkness nor light. If you persevere, good times will come again. The star of hope never sets.

But that won't help you if you become a footnote in the saga of the age. So go for the glory!

And ignore the distant laughter of those who want to see the Empire burn. Will you be the Heroes to determine how the Thirteenth Age turns?

The Icons

Icons

Emperors of Note

Sophia IV the Seeker (5648 - 5679): The Twelfth Age ended mysteriously; in her early reign, she was mostly interested in having fun, but she turned very serious, probing into deep mysteries. She abdicated in 5679 to devote herself to seeking the truth and vanished in the Dragon Wood in 5688.

Zoe III (5734 - 5758): The eighth of eight children, all her siblings died before her; she is suspected to have killed two of them, but it's generally considered unlikely she engineered the hobgoblin invasion which killed three of her brothers and Demetrius chose to invade Skyport and die of his own free will. And she hadn't even been born yet when Doricus died by falling down the stairs. She played her own children against each other and was generally capricious and hard to deal with. Few were saddened when her taster chose to hide detecting poison and let her eat poison food and die. He was hung, of course, but she was dead and all rejoiced.

Constantine X (5844 - 5872): He briefly re-opened contact with lands across the Iron Sea, then bankrupted himself; he spent his final years eating and eating until he finally died. Legend claims a final mint caused him to explode, but actually he just had a heart attack and multiple strokes at the same time and died swiftly.

Christopher VII (5903 - 5922): He defeated a major gnoll uprising in his early years. Upon the appearance of the Orc Lord in 5922, he challenged the Orc Lord to single combat and died. To the surprise of all, the Orc Lord did not immediately invade, though he did unleash powerful raids for three years.

The Great Cities

The Dragon Empire dates back to the First Age, when the first Emperor overthrew the Wizard King, who had become the Lich King, and established an empire which has waxed and waned over the centuries. It centers around seven powerful cities in the current age; other Great Cities have come and gone. The powerful kingdoms of the Elves and Dwarves currently pay fealty to it; there have been times past where they ruled the Empire in fact, if not in name. Beyond the Empire is only barbarians and monsters, though beyond those, far away, other kingdoms exist and in some ages, the Empire had contact with them.

• Axis: The City of Swords. Thousands of years old, the city has been built up, trashed and rebuilt; it is now full of anachronistic buildings of other ages dotted among modern styles of construction. Cut through by a river, the north bank is largely modern construction, the southern regions holding more anachronisms. The Imperial Palace is here and many great arenas, for the city is home to gladiatorial combat, voluntary in this age (but not always so in the past), a tradition watched over by the dragons who dwell here on the great mountain whose slopes hold their homes and the Imperial Palace. This is the above all the city of The Emperor.
  • The Imperial Arena: The highest status arena in Axis, where the Emperor himself comes to see games, presided over by Yalaran, a Gold Dragon of great age. Many wonder who will take over once he dies. All gladiators here are voluntary ones. Spectacular games are held on the major holidays.
• Concord: The City of Spires. Created to symbolize the alliance of the Elf Queen and the Dwarf King. Many kinds of demihumans live here, from the underground homes of the Silver Folk to comfy Halfling holes to towering Wood Elven Trees and the high towers of the High Elves. It is said that the city magically encourages harmony among different races. The Twine of the Three rises in the center of the city, then it is surrounded by circular and spoke roads out from the central plaza atop a hill.
  • The Twine of the Three: After her success in reuniting the three branches of Elfdom, the Elf Queen commemorated the event by building a great spire, the Twine of the Three. In a form that mimics her crown, three pillars of obsidian, emerald, and diamond start separately and come together, twisting around until they form a tightly knit braid, culminating in a great beacon. The spire itself can be seen for many leagues during the day, and the beacon turns the night to day. Many many years later, after the Dwarf-Elf truce, the city of Concord is built around what had been a solitary monument.
• Drakkenhall: The City of Monsters. The Blue rules this half-ruined city, stocking it with 'civilized' monsters. Bring lots of bribe money but you can find treasures in the ruins and make amazing deals in the Goblin Market. This is the above all the city of The Blue.
• Glitterhaegen: The City of Gold. This prosperous city brings goods from the Dwarven city of Forge to the rest of the Empire and brings Imperial goods to the Dwarves. Gnomes, Half-Elves, and Humans dominate the city. It's affairs are intertwined with those of Shadowport, the city of the Prince of Shadows. The city is a collection of islands linked by bridges and waterways; while they cannot feed the city, some islands are dedicated to corn, beans, and squash, fertilized by muck scraped from the Fangs and shipped to the city. The city is noted for its whiskey production, fed by island corn.
  • Dragon's Den: This building is a coffee shop (floor one), bookstore (floor two), and restaurant (floor 3), run by a brass dragon named Amylar, and his Draconic followers. Amylar loves to gossip with people and discuss books; he usually knows much of what's going down in the city. He has a house band on the third floor, who mostly play mood music but sometimes do patriotic tunes in times of war.
  • Flooded Dungeon: There is an eight-layered complex under the city, most of it underwater, dug by out of control automatons at the end of the Second Age. Every so often, some mad wizard takes it over and runs it as a full-blown dungeon, or monsters just move in. The mad wizard Broin, who is obsessed with some mithril axe to the point of getting his entire clan wiped out trying to recover it, now lurks there, ruling aquatic monsters and rumor has it he thinks this will somehow bring the axe to him. There are treasures to be had but the city warns that mad wizards are a definite health hazard.
  • The Foreign Trade Guild House: Founded in the Sixth Age, it hit its peak in the Seventh; the difficulties of crossing the Iron Sea have caused it to dwindle to a minor guild, whose main asset is that its members control the Imperial side of trade with Shali (Manzabwe); much of the guild complex is crumbling and abandoned, and there are persistent rumors that part of it is now basically a dungeon, though most people assume that is an exaggeration. There is an airship landing facility here, and the guild now functions as the city's airship port, which helps it to stay functional. There is also a high-class restaurant which sells Shali cuisine, another major source of revenue.
  • Island Farms: Scattered through the city are islands which grow crops; most grow food, especially corn, beans, and squash, which were the central diet of humans in this area back in the time of the Serpent Folk, though a few grow cash crops, mainly tobacco and tea. Halflings control cash crop production, and humans the food farms. Collectively, this is known as the Ward of Pelor, whose temple watches over farming, along with Melora, who has a shrine in the district.
    • Strawberry Fields: The Spelljack had a notorious battle with the Inquistor here in the First Age. He was forced to flee, and ever since this island has grown strawberries in profusion, year round; a new crop ripens once a month. The city itself owns the fields and uses sale of strawberries as a minor revenue source. It also has made strawberries popular in the city.
  • Island Temples: Some islands in the cities are temples; the districts of the cities, ironically, are organized around the temples, even though the folk of Glitterhaegen are not as religious as Santa Cora, or even Axis. The biggest is the temple of Avandra, not in her aspect as Goddess of Halflings, but as Goddess of Trade. It is a giant six story tall cube of marble on its own island, which also includes many lesser buildings, including a hotel which caters to wealthy visitors to the city. The Ward of Avandra is where all the richest people in the city live on a set of islands, many of which are basically one big estate. The second biggest is the pentagon-shaped temple of Erathis, goddess of Civilzation and Law. The Ward of Erathis is where the government of the city is located, along with the scribes, booksellers, and other information brokers. The temple includes a shrine to Ioun, who does not have an independent temple. There are many other temples in the city as well but those are the most prominent.
  • Penny Lane: Penny Lane is a working class district, on a strangely round island, whose roads are a mix of spokes and concentric circles around a plaza known as the Roundabout, which serves as a cheap market. Many workers live here and travel elsewhere to work. However, the social center of the district is barbershops, which double as teashops; Penny Lane's inhabitants blow much of their money on fancy teas, imported from around New Port, mostly. There's been a fad lately for 'Dragon Teas', which have a smokey taste, from Drakkenhall.
• Horizon: The City of Wonders. Half the city flies and it's all connected by gates; a city of wizards and sorcerors and their works. The Archmage dwells here in a flying fortress, directing his massive defense grid.
  • **99 Jars: ** During the fifth age, Bungo Hillshire killed one of the most skilled and subtle Illithid infiltrators of the surface world as it was returning to the Underdark, it's head full of priceless knowledge that would never reach the Elder Brains. Bungo put its head in a jar. Halflings sing a song today about Bungo, though it is a variant of 99 bottles of beer on the wall, where it's 99 Illithid brains on the wall. And it counts up. In Horizon (99 Jars), there is a bar with 99 Illithid brains on the wall, but probably none of them are the one the Illithids want and most of them are probably fake.
• New Port, the City of Promise.
• Santa Cora, City of the Gods