ROGUES GALLERY - Ainsley Kells

 

AINSLEY KELLS 

CG Human Bard 1

Ainsley Kells is a handful.  Ask anybody in Firefly Holler.  Just not when she's in earshot, 'cuz if she is she'll tell you rightoff that she's the most ladylike gal in her whole clan and then she'll give your ears a shot with the flat of her palm.

At sixteen years old, she's a bit older than most of the gals that've come to stay with Miss Cordie when they first rrive, but there is a very particular reason why the grayin' wise woman took her on.

'Cuz, even though everybody knows she's a wild'un, everybody also knows that Ainsley Kells is touched by the Old Ways.  She has the healer's knack and a singin' voice so angelic it would make even the most crotchety ol' dwarf shed a tear.  With several more years a' larnin' and a bit less sassin' and fightin,' she might one day measure up to be a fine wise woman.

No further sign's needed than to know that Miss Cordie's ol' blue-eyed hound dog, Teeter, is just as often found crawlin' through the brambles or a'gallivantin' along the streams with Miss Cordie's ward, than he is attendin' to his mistress.

The folk of Firefly Holler just hope Miss Cordie will be able to work some lastin' sense into the gal before all's said and done!

ROGUES GALLERY - Corda "Miss Cordie" Broome

 

CORDA "Miss Cordie" BROOME

NG Human Warlock 4 / Cleric (Nature) 3

They say Miss Cordie was touched, even as a young'un.  As she grew older, she always seemed to have a great bond with, and peculiar knowledge of, the Old Ways.

Her "peculiarity" ensured that she never found a proper husband, nor had any children of her own, but, from time to time, one of the local families would send their own "peculiar" young girl child to foster with her and see if the young'un, too, might be well-attuned to the Old Ways.  Most often, the young gal would grow out of her odd phase and return to her folks enriched with a bit of wisdom and, much to their relief, more suitable to a life of matrimony.  

And then, several years passed by since she'd had such a ward, and folk wern't sure Miss Cordie might ever take on another gal.

Even so, Miss Cordie was rarely alone at her homestead, with all her chickens and her energetic hound dog, Teeter, to keep her company.  

Teeter

And still today passin' folk often see her and Ol' Doc Faust sittin' on her front porch gabbin' and smokin' their pipes.

But all that upended recently when she took in another young gal, Ainsley Kells, as her ward.  The Kells had always been known as a wild bunch, and everyone in town agrees that Miss Cordie is goin' to have her hands full with that 'un!

All told, the folks of the Holler look to Miss Cordie as a respected wise woman and herbalist.  While most look to Doc Faust for their everyday poultices and tending to, when something ails them in the soul, they come a knockin' at her door.

Some even whisper that she is so invested with the Green that she entreats directly with the Lord of the Forest his self . . .

SETTING THE GAME TABLE - The Old Ways

 

The Path of the Green

In Firefly Holler, faith in the Old Ways runs as deep as the roots of the mountains.  In the broadest sense the Old Ways recognize the eternal struggle between the Green and the Black, between light and life and hope, and the the yawning, despairing, devouring darkness.  One cannot exist without the other, and yet the folk of Firefly Holler also know that the Old Ways are the ways of the righteous, and not the ways of the wicked.

Lessons of the Old Ways are often transmitted through the songs of the deeds of the mighty Cu Chulainn, and he is the great exemplar of the people's faith.  The Old Ways say that Cu Chulainn strode the earth an age ago or more, in a land far away.  A land where the ancestors of the folk of Firefly Holler had once travelled from, in a time lost to memory.

Cu Chulainn was the implacable foe of the Black and the Chosen of the Green.  Wherever evil manifested in his domain, he met it with action and courage.  Cu Chulainn advocated the cause of men before the courts of the fey and was counted as friend in the deep halls of the dwarves.  His name is known to and respected by all good folk.  Many great deeds of heroism did he accomplish, and it is said that though he be mortal, yet still his line endures.

Even today, the folk of the Holler sing his songs and tell his tales, knowing that the blood of the Hound of the Splinters runs through their veins, as well, and when the Black rises, the Old Ways promise that the Green will answer.

*          *          *          *          *

In game terms, the faith of the Old Ways is expressed through the seven Divine Domains found beginning on page 58 of the PHB, which are:

Guardian

Knowledge

Life

Light

Nature

Tempest

Trickery

These are the tools that the faithful array against the Black in all its forms.  As noted elsewhere, the domain of War is recognized instead as the Guardian domain in this world.  The Black and its adherents wield their own powers, through traditions and practices too foul for good folk to contemplate.

Players are free to explore the contours and intricacies of the Old Ways in any way they see fit that keeps to the spirit of the campaign, whether it be through the lore of Cu Chulainn and his deeds, the various divine domains, or any other aspect of the Green that wards the good folk of the Splinters against the darkness.

SETTING THE GAME TABLE -- Introduction / The Crunch

 A Typical Guardian Fetish

    Tales of Primordia - Gathering Mysts (ToPGM) uses the 5th edition (5e) rules set of Dungeons & Dragons (D&D).  Players may build their characters utilizing any official Wizards of the Coast (WotC) 5e D&D source book.  There are also certain house rules in effect for characters and character building, which are very close to those used in the prior Tales of Primordia -- Dark Tides (ToPDT) campaign, which are adapted from Pathfinder (PF) first edition (1e) to D&D 5e.  Those house rules are as follows:

        *    Characters select their ability scores using the Variant: Custom Ability Scores rule found on page 13 of the Players Handbook (PHB).

        *    Characters begin with maximum hit points for their hit die at first level as indicated on page 12 of the PHB (which affirms our usual house rule used in ToPDT).  Beyond first level, characters gain hit points at the fixed value shown in each class entry, which is the average die roll rounded up, as described on page 15 of the PHB (which also reflects prior house rules in ToPDT).

        *    Players start with maximum gold for their class as indicated on page 143 of the PHB.

        *    Evil characters are not allowed in ToPGM, just as in ToPDT.

        *    In Primordia, there are no "gods," at least not in the sense defined in various mythologies.  The people of Firefly Holler and its environs generally adhere to the Old Ways, a vaguely defined and intuitively understood worldview inspired by Appalachian folklore and Scotts-Irish legends inherited from the old world.  Divine Domains (see PHB pages 58-63) will be associated within the Old Ways in a manner explained in following Campaign Notes posts and will roughly approximate the pattern utilized in ToPDT (but here, instead of the Ten Pointed Star-- with the ten divine domains in PF-- the Old Ways have seven domains in 5e D&D).

    *    In Primordia, "magic" is a general term referring to the supernatural and supernatural powers.  Whether a character learns to wield these supernatural powers through faith (cleric or paladin), study (wizard), meditation (monk), nature (druid), pact (warlock), intuitively (sorceror or bard), or otherwise, the Old Ways acknowledge the magic all comes from the same place.

    *    As always, players should feel free to build their character any way they like, understanding that ToPGM has a certain flavor and context as described in prior, and in future, campaign posts.  Character concepts should not stray outside the core campaign concepts.  If anyone has any questions about their character concept and ToPGM, we can discuss it either at the Campaign Open Forum, or at any time before the campaign kicks off!

SETTING THE GAME TABLE -- Introduction / The Fluff

The Trail to Firefly Holler

The Hills Are All Hainted 

The Forests Go Hawing

The Mountains Grow Hungry

The Gathering Mysts Hum

    Welcome to the next installment of Tales of Primordia!

    This campaign takes place in our sandbox world of Primordia, which we have explored in the past, but we begin in a precise location and specific time that are not yet revealed.  We only know the lay of the land where we first arrive!

    We commence our story in an isolated little village called Firefly Hollow (our, more commonly Firefly Holler).  The village lies in a remote valley in the Splinters, an isolated segment of a very, very old mountain range.  And how do the folk of Firefly Holler know these mountains are so very old?  

    They know because the Old Ways tell them so.  Because it is whispered to them by the wind in the trees and painted for them in the the depths of the night sky.

    Tales of Primordia - Gathering Mysts is a tale of folk beliefs and spooky forests, of haints and hags and things that go bump in the night. It is a tale of remote settlements far from any civilized world, where honest folk do not wander too far into the hills, nor whistle into the woods, nor fail to heed the  wisdom of the Old Ways.

    There are many familiar, yet strange, elements in the lands around Firefly Holler.  The elves, or Sheehee as the locals call them, are rare, capricious creatures who dance under the moonlight and largely avoid the world of men.  Dwarves are cunning craftsmen who live in their natural, remote caves and grottoes and know many secrets.  The Splinters and the nearby Shambles are hainted by many spirits of the land who can bless or curse travelers at a whim, trolls, witches and even guardian spirits who protect the innocent and unwary.

    This campaign is inspired by a number of sources, some more loosely than others.  These sources include:

            *    Hillbilly.  A series of comics by Eric Powell set in an imaginary Appalachian / medieval world

            *    Old Gods of Appalachia.  A horror-anthology podcast by Steve Shell and Cam Collins

            *    Red Shadows and other tales of Solomon Kane, written by R.E. Howard and found primarily in the depression era anthology magazine Weird Tales

            *    Tales of Cu Chulainn: Irish Heroic Myths, a collection of Celtic legends collected by Penguin Books. (most common pronunciation:  koo-KULL-en)

            *    Everything That Rises Must Converge, and other works and short stories by Flannery O'Connor, along with themes and tropes found in the works of other southern gothic writers that utilize strange events, eccentric characters and local color to create a sometimes moody and unsettling depictions of life.  Things can appear normal on the surface, but reveal themselves to be strange, disturbing and sometimes horrific.