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

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

Heroic Icons:

• The Archmage: Maintainer of the mystic defenses of the Empire; many have held this office over the years. The current Archmage is clearly rather overworked and in constant need of agents to help keep everything running, even with an army of agents. The current Dwarf King's interest in things arcane has led to closer relations between him and the Archmage. The Archmage and the Emperor are allied against all enemies of the Empire, from the Orc Lord to the High Druid.
• The Emperor: Ruler of the Dragon Empire; there have been hundreds of Emperors since the first, sometimes vastly potent, sometimes empty figureheads. The current Emperor, however, is middle-aged and vigorous but beset with problems to deal with, problems where he could use a few good folk to help him out. Letting the Blue become Lord of Drakkenhall probably is going a bit far in that direction but it's worked so far. For some values of work. The Archmage and the Emperor are allied against all enemies of the Empire, from the Orc Lord to the High Druid. The current Emperor is Andreas X (5993 - Now)
• Great Gold Wyrm: Long ago, he trapped himself in the Abyss to save the world from a demonic invasion. Some still break through at hellholes, but he's doing the best he can. He's the source of the metallic dragons who keep the Empire afloat in its darkest hours. Surely you'll help out the greatest martyr of all? Unusually, the current High Druid has come to the aid of the Great Gold Wyrm several times.
• The Priestess: Every age seems to have at least one new Icon or the return of an old one. This one is new; the Priestess has united all the churches of Light into one, cooperating from her city of Santa Cora. The prayers of the Faithful pour in and she aids the faithful and calls on them to help her in turn. The Crusader and Priestess get on poorly for obvious reasons.

Ambiguous Icons:

• The Crusader: FIGHT FIRE WITH FIRE. The only solution to the Demons is to basically be willing to do anything to stop them. The Crusader leads the priesthoods and knights of the Dark Gods, who may be evil but want to rule the world, not destroy it. The Crusader and Priestess get on poorly for obvious reasons, but the Diabolist is enemy number one for the Crusader. There have been a lot of Crusaders, as they tend to die young, taking their enemies with them. But the current one may well prove the exception to the rule.
• The Dwarf King: As a dwarf, he is loyal and steadfast and also the living avatar of 'delving too greedily and too deep'. The Dwarves lost the Underworld under one of his predecessors and some worry his quest for wealth and power will do the same to the Dwarven realms in the Shallows. He has a truce with the Elf Queen and owes fealty to the Emperor and seems to take that very seriously, if not seriously enough to stop looking for GOLD, GOLD GOLD LOVELY GOLD. Unlike most of his predecessors, however, he has an interest in things arcane and is on good terms with the Archmage.
• The Elf Queen: Mysterious and enigmatic, she has ruled the Elves for thousands of years, going on when others die. Only she holds back the three Elf nations from once again tearing each other apart. She once warred with the Dwarves, but they now have a long-standing truce. Everyone knows she desires the prosperity and survival of Elvenkind, but no one is sure how she plans to do that. Like the Emperor, she always needs aid in her projects, though she has less problems to deal with than him. Unless you count the return of the Orc Lord, who is known to want her head on a plate. The Green, once one of the Five, who are now just Three, serves her for reasons unknown. No one is sure who is zooming who here.
• The High Druid: There have been a series of High Druids over the Ages; most have dwelt out in the wilderness and concerned themselves with things which barely touched the Empire; this one appeared around the same time as the Priestess and set up inside the Empire, sort of, in the Wild Wood. She's known to feel the Empire is too big and needs to be cut back like out of control kudzu, but no one is sure how she plans to do it; the Emperor and the Archmage both are clearly her foes in this respect though. Oddly, unlike other High Druids, she's also sent aid to the Great Gold Wyrm.
• The Prince of Shadows: Do you want to dance with Jack of Shadows? There are rumors he comes from another set of planes of existence. Whatever his origins, the Prince of Shadows lives in the twilight between good and evil, ignoring the law, but rarely hurting anyone but the wealthy and powerful. What he wants, beyond doing it his way, remains a mystery.

Villainous Icons:

• The Diabolist: There have been several Diabolists, but entire ages have gone by without one. The current one acts in public like a cackling pantomime villain, all slinky clothing, seduction and curses. It's generally assumed this is an act but no one is sure what she's really like, beyond being the ruler of the demons held back by the Great Gold Wyrm. She's constantly offering favors in return for services. You always get what she says you will get... and consequences you didn't anticipate. Sometimes she even asks you to do a nice thing and that worries people the most. Surely, she's up to no good, though.
• The Lich King: The Wizard King overthrew the rule of the Serpent People and carved civilization out of the wilderness for mankind. Then he decided he wanted to never die and became an undead monster and everything gradually went to hell. Ironically, it's the Orc Lord who carved him into kibble, then the Great Gold Wyrm and the first Emperor imprisoned him on Omen. Unfortunately, he's now back in action, though not yet free to roam the world, causing trouble. And you'd make a great pawn. Some people make bargains with him, but some people mistake their own vomit for Jubilex and try to cut a deal with it too. He is more powerful than your vomit but a lot more dangerous.
• The Orc Lord: During the time before the Ages, in the Epoch of the Serpent Men, the Elves created their own super-weapon to deal with the Lich King, the Orc Lord, who would lead an army of monsters against the Lich King. And he did! He totally chopped the the Lich King into hamburger, then vanished. Only the Orcs stuck around and periodically there's an outbreak of them and they wreck havoc. Only, now in the 13th Age, he's back and seems to have decided the Emperor is the Lich King, or maybe he just was badly created and wants to kill all monarchs and burn all civilizations. Ooops. (Certain Rumors claim he was circumnavigating the globe and destroying all its civilizations until now.) Anyway, he's back and known to be gunning for both the Emperor and the Elf Queen. Maybe the Dwarf King too. It's good to be ambitious, right? Maybe you can cut a deal with him. He is honorable in his own way in a way that includes a lot of destruction. People expect he will move soon, as he's been laying the groundwork for a century now; the fact that he's taken so long worries people. The Orc Lord wasn't so methodical in the past.
• The Three: An alliance of three Chromatic dragons. Once the Five, but the White got turned into a Dracolich by the Lich King, then was hacked into kibble by the Orc Lord, because that's how he rolls. He cares about it so little it isn't even mentioned in his own entry but the Three are still bitter. (The Green betrayed the others and now is the lapdog of the Elf Queen, and no one is sure why.) The Red, the Blue, and the Black still rule the Chromatic Dragons but now the Blue has signed on under the Emperor as the Lord of Drakkenhall and no one is sure what's going on there, either. There is probably a master plan but given how dragons are, this may well end up with just a One who then gets killed by the Orc Lord. Still, I wouldn't want to mess with them and if a dragon tells you to do something, you'd better have big mojo if you want to say no.

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. When Drakkenhall fell to monsters, this city rose and it still grows. Everything here is new; this city is free of the weight of history, a place to start anew, claimed by none of the icons. It is shaped like a U around a harbor.
  • Dwarftown: This area is in the eastern arm of the U, south of Newtown and north of Midtown. It is dominated by Dwarves, often by the family of Dwarves who work for the empire maintaining the Sea Wall defenses. They control the city's stone and metalworking trades and most of the area is two story artisan shops. The East Gate connects to Dwarftown.
  • Eastfort: This fort guards the east side of the harbor, up on a rise at the northern end of the U; just south of it is Newtown. This fortress was the first thing built here, and it is kept in good shape, moreso than Newtown.
  • Midtown: At the bottom of the U, Midtown is home to markets and artisan shops, organized by occupation, such as the street of the precious metals, the street of the coopers and so on. It is home to the main church of the town, a great, ancient cathedral surviving from the 10th age and many smaller shrines, many inns and taverns and higher class brothels, theaters, and gambling halls. The South Gate connects to it.
  • New High Rock: Located on a rise on the northwestern end of the U, this is where the richest people live, where the city government is, and where the Mayor of the City dwells in a fortress which also protects the harbor's west side. As you climb, houses get fancier. The Emperor has a palace here, though he rarely visits. His governor for the region, Vladmir Romanov, dwells in said palace, but is mainly concerned with the Sea Wall and what's left of this province that the Wild Wood hasn't taken. He is a necromancer, not a vampire, thank you, and is perfectly able to go out in the sun. He has been able to largely keep the Lich King's agents out of the area... or so he says.
  • Newtown: This is where New Port began, just up from the Port District, on the northeastern end of the U. It is a working class district now, full of four story buildings with four apartments per story, breweries, a few old fancy houses now divided into apartments, an abandoned church, a functional church, two simple parks, some taverns and brothels, and an apparently indestructible statue of one of the Gnome Archmages which is always decorated in some manner, like putting a whore's hat on it or painting it green.
  • Port District: A long arcing crescent along the harbor; it is full of warehouses, flophouses, taverns, brothels, and gambling dens. Most of the petty crime of the city is here. It is below the rest of the city; you must descend a 20 foot ramp or staircase to come down to the Port District from above.
  • The Skytower: Built in an earlier iteration of the city, this tower in the middle of Midtown reaches up into a perpetual cloud; it is sealed with potent wards and once slew a great sea monster that attacked it. It's rumored to hold ancient treasures, the corpse of the Spelljack, an ancient lich, the actual White (the Orc Lord killed a fake, supposedly, some say), the remains of a Third Age Emperor, or a ring that grants wishes. Who knows, if anyone has gotten in, they're not telling.
  • Westgate: This region is south of New High Rock and north of Midtown in the west side of the U, set up for caravans to park and travelers to find accomodation. It also has many stables where you can rent horses and wagons and is home to the guilds which service wagons and transport directly. Buserian's House of Oddities, run by a Wizard who claims to be from another world, can be found here, with many strange magic items and mundane goods. Buserian is noted for his claim that real bronze is made from dead gods and that what we call bronze is a flimflam.
• Santa Cora, City of the Gods