A millennia ago, House Ka’Dal was the group of Orovari who broke from the Elves and fought with Kaldrath when he lead his genocide against the other Eldar. They served him faithfully until he was defeated by a coalition of elves, fauns, and other fey. House Ka’Dal was banished north with the other races who fought alongside Kaldrath. There the clan broke apart due to infighting and the clan nations of the Orovari were formed in the frozen North.

In more recent days, the House reemerged about 1,00o years ago and banded together many clans of the Orovari. Ka’Dal allied itself with Uthgard as Olaekin Baleband lead a war against the Aradan Kingdom. After the war, the Disappearance occurred and all elves and fey disappeared mysteriously from the lands of Atheles.

30 years ago magic began to return, and with magic came the elves and the fey. Once again the hollow star banner of Ka’Dal was raised in the North and many flocked to its banner. They gathered their warriors and looked to the fertile, warmer lands to the south.

This will be a 2.5-3 hour demo, with a focus on having fun. So don’t stress too much, you are not expected to have to know anything, and I am here to help you along and make sure you do just that; have fun.

Tech Stuff before the Game (preferably ASAP and not right before we play)

First download discord and join the SagaBorn channel ( https://discord.gg/M64gpW2 ). 

Download Fantasy Grounds Unity (Free Demo) 

Available for PC and Mac. https://www.fantasygrounds.com/home/FantasyGroundsUnity.php

Fantasy grounds is a complete online campaign application, and I currently have all of SagaBorn programmed into it. It can look overwhelming, but don;t worry, I am here to help 🙂

Make a Fantasy Grounds Account

This is how you log into the server lobby to find the SagaBorn server.

https://www.fantasygrounds.com/forums/register.php

Prepping before the Game (To do before the game session as prep)

Here is some basic knowledge that will be helpful if you haven’t played before, or if you just want an overview.

Character Classes

Characters have classes. There are three classes (Fighter, Mage, Scout) and 8 Paths. There are 6 choices in the demo, and they are detailed below.

Fighter – Classic warrior with a sword. Easy to play.

Berserker – A wild warrior, they go into fierce rages. Easy to play.

Archeon – A warrior who specializes in fighting against magic users. Medium difficulty.

Ranger – A scout who specializes in ranged attacks, sneak attacks, and nature. Easy to play.

Rogue – A scout who is sneaky, opens locks, and backstabs. Easy to play.

Wylder – A wild mage. They cast spells, imbue their weapons with magical energy, and heal. Most difficult to play, due to many abilities and mana tracking.

Species

Here are the most common playable species and their bonuses. Since this is a one shot, I won’t get into their individual cultures, but if you want a little more info, visit: https://www.darkreturn.com/encyclopedia/the-peoples/

Dwarf: low light vision 60’, +1 to Endurance (Misc. Mod.), +2 to knowledge checks on one of the following: stonework, woodwork, or metalwork

Elf: dazeless (+10 against daze, sleep, or stun based mind magic) , cold iron causes harm, steel causes harm, low light vision 60’, require very little food or water, only need 4 hours of sleep

Elfling: cold iron causes harm, steel causes discomfort, low light vision 60’, fearless (+10 against fear based magic)

Half-Dwarf: +1 to a skill, low light vision 30’

Human: +1 to any skill (Misc. Mod.)

Faun: low light vision 30’, +2 to saves vs charm, animal friend (can use the spell Calm Animal as a standard action)

Feral Elfling: cold iron causes harm, steel causes harm, low light vision 60’, fearless (+10 against fear based magic)

Specific things about the SagaBorn system.

Heroic Actions

When a character wants to do something different than a standard attack, such as tackle their opponent, they must succeed at a Heroic Action. A Heroic Action is a player vs. Game Master roll: each rolls a d20 and adds the appropriate ability modifier (for a roll against the environment the GM adds a default +2). The highest roll wins. Heroic actions can be used for any non-combat actions that would be contested by another creature.

SagaPoints

When a character does something amazing, succeeds or fails at a daring Heroic Action, or makes the other people at the table gasp in awe, the GM may award them a Saga Point. Players can use these Saga Points to reroll one die roll. At the start of the game night if a character has zero Saga Points, they are awarded one.

Spells

Magic uses mana instead of memorized spells. If you know the spell. And you have enough mana, you can cast it.

Other things to get ready

Here is a quick intro to finding your character. Answer these three questions and you will be in a good place to jump into a character for a one night adventure. The answers don’t have to be long, they should just provide a springboard to character creation.

Is your character a hero? 

Do they do things out of the goodness of their heart, or do they have selfish motives? Do they want to fight for a better world, or is the world there to provide for them?

What is your immediate goal?

Is it money? Fame? Ridding the world of evil?

Are you merciful?

You have defeated most of the goblins. Only one is left, and they are begging to be spared. They have been bandits on the road, preying on innocent travelers, and even hurting some of them. What do you do?

The Night of the Game

Prep time should start 15 minutes before the game to help us solve any issues.

1. Join Discord and meet up in the SagaBorn Online Game Channel voice chat. I will be there to help with any technical difficulties.
2. Run Fantasy Grounds.
3. If the Check for Updates button has a red outline, click to update.
4. Click the Join Campaign button
5. Search for me in the Lobby: username mbielaczyc or the game name Following in the Footsteps
6. Password: aradani1
7. It will acquire the file list, which may take a few minutes.
8. Choose character
9. Play!

Human: +1 to any score

The most diverse race. Average lifespan is 60 years, though it is said that those of the Aradan kingdom lived longer (this is due to magic and medicine leading to fewer diseases and less sickness). They spread over Uteria more quickly than any race. The average family has 4-7 children—though many die of disease—causing their population to thrive and spread over the lands. The human population was decimated after the war, 700 years ago, but has now begun to thrive again, filling the cities and lands of the past.

see Human