Player's Guide to the Rituals of Choice Adventure Path (to date)

If you did not know, I am currently writing, designing, producing and publishing an adventure path for Monte Cook's Arcana Evolved called The Rituals of Choice. I have decided that I will be creating a free player's companion to the series, which can also serve as a regional sourcebook for the default location where the campaign saga takes place. I will be posting my raw work in progress, and plan to update at least once a week (sans interview posts).

A Companion
To help immerse both players and player characters in the saga of the campaign, Rite Publishing is proud to present The Player's Guide to The Rituals of Choice Adventure Path for Monte Cook's Arcana Evolved. DMs are encouraged to provide a copy of this document to each of thier players (Full permission is granted to reproduce this document) and allow players to reference the Player's Guide during the course of the game. This Player's Guide also serves to help assemble the emerging "Puzzle Piece Plot" that constitutes the story arc of the Rituals of Choice Adventure Path by providing the starting framework. The default setting where the adventure path takes place is a large town known as Far-Rough along with its surrounding environment called the Edgelands, once known as the fallen Duchy of Nem before the coming of the Dramojh (Dragon Scions).

Why Far-Rough?
The Cradle of Nem, The Birthplace of Seral the Rune Messiah, the giants call it Tar-Duph but overtime the local population bastardized the giantish pronunciation so that now most everyone else calls it Far-Rough; I, Lomen Taverson, Bard of the Eldritch, call it home.

You will find my home at the center of the "Edgelands" a crossroads that can lead into the Floating Forest, the Central Plains, and the forbidding Bitter Peaks. It is an outstanding location serving as both a destination for trade, and as layover on the journey into these evocative regions. Far-Rough offers many a pursuit for both knight and seekers of fortune such as myself, from expeditions into the ancient ruins that dot the central plains, to the evocative environment of the floating forest, and even the Clandestine War of the Dark Depths. The town itself offers a unique political climate where the Hu-Charad rules over a far larger population of humans along with a mix of other races. Backed by the large numbers of non-giants the Order of the Axe challenges the power of the Diamond Throne; while the Nightwalkers and Jaren jockey for economic dominion. It is even more dramatic still for my people the "Roughfolk" judge others only by their deeds, often you will find visiting goblins, rhodin, and chorrim about town this does not even address the more astounding permanent residence that settle in both Far-Rough and the Edgelands. Far-Rough features all the amenities and ancient traditions of an old world city, dating back to a time before the dragons left for the mysterious west, coupled with the friendly charm and the hospitality of a small town. It has an excellent variety of first-rate inns, taverns, restaurants, sages, a trade bazaar in the Traveler's Burrow and even a magic item shop, as well as a vibrant culture scene.

My Lyre greets you, you are well come to Far-Rough, the crossroad of adventure.

Tone of the Campaign
While each adventure can stand alone, when run as a campaign The Rituals of Choice Adventure Path provides an epic over-arcing storyline. It makes full use of the Diamond Throne setting and its various adventuring environments. Players are encouraged to read Chapter 10: the Diamond Throne Gazetteer of Monte Cook's Arcana Evolved, as while the first five adventures will keep the players close to the northern border of the Floating Forest they will travel the height and breadth of the lands before the story is complete.

The Rituals of Choice Adventure Path is a campaign saga that places a great deal of importance on the choices the player characters make. Every choice holds consequences that effect encounters throughout the course of the adventure path. There is no pre-destined outcome to the campaign. PCs can fail; they can destroy the world, or bring about a pyrrhic victory. The PCs could leave behind a bleak dystopia or even win a wondrous victory where they bring about their own vision of the future.

The choices presented will be far beyond choosing the left or right corridor, these are difficult moral choices that change the foundation of who the player character is, and from choice of whether saving a soul is worth risking the welfare of the world or assisting in a ritual suicide.

Honor, duty, and loyalty are not just words in this fantasy campaign they are supernatural powers in their own right, and the Lands of the Diamond Throne respect that power. The campaign fully expects players to be a part of the world around them there are powers in the world who will seek you out as both ally and enemy based on your choices, those you support will call upon your aid. This is an idealistic campaign where people keep their word, enemies rarely lie, and the untrustworthy few stand out in the crowd. With powerful ceremonies and customs stronger than law, backing the cultural codes of conduct the PCs will find the Lands of the Diamond Throne setting helps encourage a heroic ideal within the campaign saga. However, nothing stops a player from having their character be a scoundrel or a villain so long as they are willing to suffer the consequences of their choices. Ultimately, the campaign leaves this type of decision in the hands of the DM.

Idealistic does not mean Utopian, every NPC every organization, every cause, every oath, every choice you make will put you in opposition to a different agenda. Those in opposition to your position are likely to be friends who were previously allies, and people of principle who you likely respect. Whose cause is more just, whose oath more sacred, which choice is the right choice. As heroic as the PCs are they are not the only heroes, and in this campaign heroic Npcs are just as likely to be the opposition and be in the right as the Player Characters, for they are the hero in their own story. Part of the saga is the path taken to attempt to navigate past these obstacles and sometimes the battles that fail or succeed in defeating them.

The campaign saga evolves, changing, growing, and transforming both the world and characters playing within it. Beyond gaining character levels, the adventure path encourages players to create backgrounds that allow for character growth. Players will grow as well due to both the role-playing challenges presented by the campaign as well, as how the adventure path uses the rules themselves from compelling questions to invoked apocalypse. Players, who have memorized every class, feat, spell, monster and rule that has been published will be also be challenged by reinvented and original material put forth over the course of the campaign. Nearly, every reward component of the adventure path is also reinvented or original material to help enhance the sense of magic, wonder, and change.

The Town of Far-Rough
I, Lomen Taverson, Bard of the Eldritch, will tell you that my home is a growing town, on the verge of becoming a city. It would have become a great city of note long ago were it not limited by our famous crystal-woven walls, but there has been considerable growth of late outside the Woven Walls to the west of the town in an area known as the Traveler's Burrow. My home has about 2,000 permanent residents in the winter and nearly double that number of transient residents in the height of the trade season. Located at the center of the northern edge of the Floating Forest next to a deep-water lake known as the Fanormere, Far-Rough was originally the capital of the ancient Duchy of Nem before the dramojh invasion.

There was once a central keep within the Woven Walls, but that was destroyed by the giants when they liberated my homeland, but the vast underground fortress, that holds both the terrors of the dramojh occupation and the wonders of ancient Terrekal, still remains. There is currently, on either side of the small river that runs through the town, two gassar trees that support upon their sky islands an observatory and the manor house of the Lord Steward. The area surrounding my home is a frontier lands with simple folk trying to cutting a place of their own, if a wilderness of myth, rumors, and legends come to life. Yet I, Lomen Taverson, Bard of the Eldritch, know where your interests truly lies and though you may seem to travel with a band of misfits, I am certain you are the best you are at what you do, brave venturer. Therefore, I will tell you where you will find both ruins and labyrinths ripe for exploration.

• Legacy's Haven is actually part of the crystal-woven walls of the city; it is deep below the ground and protects the town from unwanted incursions from the Dark Depths. The rare few find their way in and live to tell the tail, as it was a hold out of guerilla fighters in the dramojh invasion then later by the dramojh during the giant's war of liberation and was one of the dramojh breeding pits.
• Edgehold is a Chorrim fortress to the west in the foremost mountain of the bitter peaks known as Mt. Seral. There is known to be a vast chorrim city complex beyond their gates, and who knows what army is amassing beyond its walls.
• The Ossuary of Nem is a vast catacombs and necropolis, to the east of the town, for nearly all the dead it apparently has wardings that keep restless spirits trapped within the walls of the ossuary and force them into hiding from the sun.
• The Pantheon Ruins a dilapidated and decaying temple complex hidden in the central plains that once gave praise to the Gods of the Denotholan, strange rituals can be found being performed here by those who seek to revive the dead gods. Mad preachers, divine guardians, immortal priests, and the odd pilgrim can be found lurking upon these grounds.
• Fanormere is a nigh on bottomless lake that leads explores into the dark depths of the sunless sea. Here an eternal war rages amongst the dwellers in the darkness form the horrific Vallorian flesh-crafters to Slassan slavers.

These are not the only areas of exploration only the most common. The weather here makes exploration hard however for there are constant storms and very harsh winters. It is an important waypoint for those traveling on to Serathis, The Ruins of Intrigue, in the Bitter Peak Mountains, and is part of the Lands of the Diamond Throne, under the Rule of the Lady Protector though one of the largest and most hidden chapterhouses of the Order of the Axe lies nearby. When full-scale rebellion against the throne comes, Far-Rough will be in the middle of it.

The Diamond Throne
The Hu-Charad renamed my town of my birth Tar-Duph after the giant war-marshal who liberated the region during the Dramojh War, and have claimed my home as part of their dominion for over 500 years. Yet nearly every time a new Steward (regional governor) is assigned to administrate this area, they have lain down their burdens and preformed the Rites of Kor-Karan becoming Dark Wardens. To this effect, the throne has recently selected the elder giant Na-Parrinder as the new Lord Steward. Na-Parrinder is over 300 years old, has rejected the siren's song that compels the Dark Wardens, and is a dedicated proponent of Si-Karan (Caretaker). He is also an aristocrat, former member of The Observance, and a distant cousin to the Lady Protector.

Do to the limited number of giants who inhabit the area that are interested in serving the government, the Lord Steward of Tar-Duph has had to lean heavily upon a number of sibeccai heralds and the rest of the local population. He has also formed the Avowed Quorum a chosen group of counselors who have bound themselves by ritual, oath, and truename to the Diamond Throne. The current members of the group are Guildmaster Hirim Gatewood of the Honorable Fellowship of Lumber Magnates; Stave Beast-speaker, ollahm lorekeeper and old friend of the steward; Au-Damna, known as the wisest Hu-Charad ritual warrior ever taught at Ta-Irkethas (Sanctuary of Forms); Myrya, a litorian totemspeaker honored by all the tribes of the central plains. Surprisingly the sibeccai commoner Vathru the Dreamer has been named spiritual advisor to the Steward and envoy to the unique faction of Rallonoch the Giving's faith that has deep roots in the region. Xelada a verrik serves as the head of the steward's heralds, she is not well liked or trusted by the other members, and many accuse her of being a mind witch and spy for the Lord Steward. The final member is a mysterious mojh runethane named Dramlok who is the steward's liaison to the Jaren. In times of need the Steward can call upon students from Ta-Irkethas (a secretive school for ritual warriors) and a few errant Knights of the Diamond. Yet the strongest military force in the area is the militant Steelveil Chapterhouse of the Order of the Axe, lead by the enigmatic Knight of Balam. The Order can muster a force three times the size the Steward could without assistance from the High Steward of the South.