Equipment: Be sure to include a detailed equipment list. The rule is going to be that if you don't have it on the most recent character sheet equipment list I have, you don't have it. This will be enforced more strictly later on. As for starting gold, everyone starts with 100gp each.. This can be altered up or down, depending on the needs of your character history.

Equipment purchases will be finalyzed before the beginning of play. Choose your equipment and keep it reasonable; you all know what your character's background is. If I think something you have choosen is unreasonable for a low level character of your background to have, I will question you about it. Again, reasonable arguments will go a long way with me.

Equipment lists - It would be very helpful to me if everyone would send me an equipment list with nothing else in the message. In the subject, put "Kaldor:(character name):equipment". I will be able to keep this for easy reference and it will be easy for you to keep current (be sure to keep a copy for yourself). Again, this will be more significant later in the campaign, but it would be a good habit for us to get into now. Everyong that does, gets an immediate reward of 300 exp points. :)Back to top

Spells and spellcasters: Harn/Kaldor is a low magic world. You may run a sorcerer character, but understand that the open use of magic is not tolerated. Even the suspicion of being a sorcerer can, in certain back water towns, get you tarred and feathered - if not worse.

Wizards are usually members of the Mangai, Kaldor's guild of wizards. They are an elite and mysterious group that is held in awe by most of the population of Kaldor. Anyone pursuing magical studies outside the guild is doing so outside the law, and is subject to arrest, fine and imprisonment upon discovery.

While in Ad&d wizards and sorcerers have much the same kind of spells, in this world the effects are often very different. When a wizard casts a spell you can assume complete control of its affects and placement - and I may possibly double or triple the printed duration. When a sorcerer casts a spell - anything can happen. The spell may do nothing, or it may be 10 times as powerful as the caster intended. Both results are unlikely, but very possible. This is an area where the skill "Spellcraft" will be very usefull. When something adverse is called for, I will make Spellcraft check, and base what happens on the results. Don't be too concerned, as casting a 1st level spell will not get you in too much trouble. As the level goes up, so does the danger.

Special note on Sorcerer Characters: As compensation for the untrained aspect of using magic as a Sorcerer, you have the advantage of even greater numbers of spells. Sorcerers in 100rye may double their bonus spells from their charisma modifier. Thus, it is not uncommon for the most powerful Wizards to have both Wizard and Sorcerer levels.

Spell lists-Much like the equipment lists, I would like for spellcasters to send me (not the "list"; use subject,"Kaldor:(character name): spell update") a separate list of their memorized spells. I know that at first level, the array of spells is hardly impressive, but you will go up in level and get more spells per day. Again, this will be a good habit for us to get into for later on. Back to top

Religions of Kaldor: I don't like the religions of Harn, so let's use the Gods from the PHB. Also, I'll take any suggestions you have as well.

Heironeous or "Helm" is viewed as the chief state Deity of Kaldor, but Chauntea and Fharlanghn are more popular at the edges of the Kingdom.

The Kingdom Paladin Organization is the Order of Peleoni, and chiefly worships Pelor, the god of light and healing. While this order is mostly one run and staffed by members of the nobility, commoners have also been known to join its ranks. In different parts of the kingdom, there are special tourneys every 4-6 years run by the order, in which new recruits of any rank or class may be able to find the favor of the order, and perhaps even membership.

The Gray Wanderers (Kingdom Rangers) chiefly worship Fharlanghn, but are free to also venerate another Deity more representative of their alignment.

The most common Monk order is the "Golden Lotus", and seem to prefer Pelor as their chief Deity. However, there are other sub-orders for Monks are known to also venerate Fharlanghn.

For Druids, Obad-Hai is the preferred Deity. The Barbarian tribes around Kaldor usually keep their religions to themselves (please see me privately for more info on this).

Evil Deities are usually not tolerated openly in Kaldor, but their members do meet in secret. Most common are worshipers of Nerull (Thieves/Assassins/Necromancers), Hextor and Wee Jas. It is whispered that there is somewhere an evil Monk order dedicated to Vecna, but it is unknown if this is true.

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Combat: This game will contain a fair amount of combat and I am going to have to experiment to find the best way to handle it. Currently, the entire group is cc'd on one round of actions and I (the DM) receive actions for the next rounds. I then progress the action as far as I can before posting a summary of the results and the current situation. This is repeated until the combat is concluded. As we get into more involved combats, I will probably change the way that this is done.

Injury scale:The following scale will be used to report the severity of wounds of PCs in percentage of hit points the character has remaining.

1-20% of hp - critical wounds
21-60% of hp - serious wounds
61-80% of hp - minor wounds
81-99% of hp - light wounds

Character Death:When a character goes below 0 hit points, he is unconscious and dying. Hit points will continue to be lost at a rate of 1/round until the character is stabilized, magically or otherwise. If the character reaches exactly 0 hp, he receives a saving throw vs. death magic. If successful, he remains conscious. Characters who are rendered unconscious by going below 0 hp remain unconscious, even if healed, for a day.

At -10 hp, the character is dead. Characters with high constitution scores get a saving throw vs. death magic at this point. If the character successfully saves, he remains alive until reaching -con. If the character loses more than half of his HP in a single round, the character must make a successful Fort save or fall unconscious. (NPCs will also have this rule, BTW)

Infravision The demihuman ability of infravision will be treated as night vision, not as heat source vision. An unexpected bright light will temporarily blind a character using infravision. An unexpected plunge into darkness will do the same. Once the eyes have had time to adjust (typically one round, but not always), either day vision or infravision, as appropriate, will be functional again. Back to top

Posting: I shall post a minimum of twice per week, unless I let you know otherwise (like for combats;). Player post deadlines are within two days of my post. Every player is required to post once per DM post (that is, at least twice per week). I expect characters to interact with one another in addition to this, but the once per my post rule is written in stone. Feel free to interact with each other than on the list or via email, but DO make me a CC. Missed posts will always result in loss of xp granted for posting, no matter what the reason. Two missed posts with no reason given to me will result in an xp penalty. Three missed posts without valid reasons will result in removal of the character from the game. I need to know that I can depend on people to post and help me keep things moving. I have the job of storyteller, judge, and bad guys. I need you to handle the good guys part for me.

At the beginning, we will be using the "multi-headed monster" rules on where the group will go. In other words, the party of characters is a "multi-headed" beast -- you all go together. If you have different locations you feel you must go to (Phred the fighter wants to check out weapons in town, while Fizbiz the wizard wants to visit the hall of the mangai", etc) : Fine. But initially, it will be a brief note sent to you privately, to be quickly resolved -- and then your character is "back with the group".

I like to limit the party in this way right off so we can both get a feel for each other's writing. Once the party moves out of Olokand, this rule will slowly relax, and most likely completely disappear. However, right off, the group will meet and move together as one.

If you are an experienced PBeM player, than you know how difficult for the players and the GM to keep track of "different groups" of players when they seperate. It is very easy for players who go off on their own to "get lost in time", and end up slowly down the whole flow of game play.

I need you to be very cognizant of this issue yourselves. Do you feel the group really needs to serperate into two groups to acheive two tasks? Fine, we can do it. But if every player is going to different places, it can very quickly destroy the game.

In most cases, your needs can be fulfilled by a quick note from me privately, as in :[You nip down the corner to the chandler's shop, don't see anything of interest. On the way back you notice "something", and hurry back to the party]. Please don't hesitate to message me with any concerns, suggestion or questions on this (or anything else, for that matter).

Please post or "speak" in the past tense, as it makes it a lot easier for me to copy and paste when I do the summary. Reply promptly to someone who posts to you. Promptly means within a day. I’m looking for at least 2 posts / week, but would like to see more. I think you’ll get a feel for things as we go along, so don’t be too concerned with it. However, I will be watching carefully who posts often, who posts completely, and who misses posts. People who fail to post will be leaving. Regrettable, but necessary for those of us who do want to play. If you have leave for a couple of days, let me know. Stuff happens, but I have my own bugaboo about posting.

I don’t expect books, but one sentence postings are not going to get you any experience points. I’m looking for at least a short reaction to something that has happened, and some sort of action from your character. You don’t have to speak every time, but do something. You order a drink. You adjust your clothes. You take out your journal and write something.

Your face is usually doing something, too. How do you feel, and how are you expressing that? This brings up a subject that all games handle differently. For 100rye, lets keep the internal dialogues to ourselves. Revealing complex inner thoughts via post is -- IMO -- pointless. Other players know what you express -- physically and verbally. We do NOT know what your character is thinking. By all means, feel free to send those things to the GM privately. But to the public list -- post only what is known "publically".

Fights are quick and confusing, because I hate ‘em and because I think that’s probably how it is in real life. I will list initiative and post the order. You will post your actions, desired or otherwise with as few contingencies as you can. Put ooc comments at the bottom, with a more game-wise description of what you want to do. Add in modifiers you are aware of (I need all the help I can get!). Here’s an example.

Round 4
Initiative order:
Mendelev
Lori
Bandit1
Bandit2
Hound

Lori posts:
-----------------------------------------------------------

[DM post - old]

The bandit snarled in fury, kicking out at Havoc with a savage blow of his foot. At the same time he leaned in, and delivered a cruel and deep thrust of his scimitar into Lori’s midriff.

[Lori – new]

Lori whirled away from the smelly bandit, spitting out blood from the nasty wound. She yelled back at him, “You’ll pay for that, you calot!” and did her best to skewer him again.

[ooc]
I want to ignore all defensive abilities and put everything into one last attack on the bugger. Did Havoc, my hound get hurt with that kick? Direct him to again attack. Still have +1 AC for dodge on him, but otherwise I do full attack. If he hits me again, I will have to retreat. Go full defensive from there on out.

-----------------------------------------------------------------

Okay. Now Lori has not “replied” to the DM’s mail. She has made a new email, and copied the text of the action she is reacting to from the DM as “DM post – old”. Why is this important? If you reply directly to the list, I have to go back and take out all the “>” marks indicating old info. This makes doing the summary where I copy and paste all the playes turns miserable. Making the DM miserable is not a good thing.

If using yahoo, you “right-click” on compose, and bring it up in a new window. Then you can easily copy and paste what you are reacting to and add your new material. Please do this. >B-)

Combat is fast and deadly. Rulings by the DM are final, but you can chat about it with me privately.

On player to player postings: The more the better. If you want to speak privately, fine. But make an ic comment to the list that explains it, and then chat offlist. CC everything to me.

Abuse: Not tolerated. We are trying to have a fun game. Sometimes people can get too into their character, and roleplay all sorts of silly things. Your character can’t be a murderer, a child molester, or a psychotic killer. If you want to play someone who is maladjusted, and can’t get along with others, please go somewhere else. Let’s all get along and play nice, please. That’s an order! :)

Add on: Now I don't want to get to heavy handed with the above. A lot of players write up huge involved bios, usually involving something terrible happening to their character at a young age. This is a game for adults, so by all means feel free to go where you want to. My main point is, while your character can certainly be pretty screwed up, and / or have odd things they are afraid of / angry at etc etc, let's just steer clear of things that will adversely affect other players experience. You were raped by orcs as a child? You were molested, you saw your family brutally eaten by wererats, etc etc : Okay, fine. But lets stay away from your character wanting to / being impeled to do the same kind of things now, hmmm? Again, if you have any questions, just let me know. I'm not trying to control your bios, as much as I'm trying to have a nice playing experience for everyone. Back to top

Experience Awards: Experience will be rewarded based on role-playing as well as combat, treasure, and 'story' xp rewards. In a PBeM game, role-playing is the most important aspect of keeping interest going, in my opinion. Players who do their part to act in character and interact with others in whatever way will be rewarded. Players who act consistantly out of character or who abuse out of character knowledge will be penalized. A "sort of" breakdown of how I award xp follows:

Monster xp: goes without saying

Story xp: As the goals of the adventure are accomplished, the characters receive a certain amount of xp. This will also include things that you do to further the game, in terms of the plot that we are pursuing and also in terms of interactions with other characters. That is as much a part of the story as anything else, and it makes things more enjoyable for everyone.

Class xp: using your class abilities for the betterment of the game. This includes in combat as well as out of combat. The more creatively things are employed, the more xp that is received. This also includes using your proficiencies (weapon and nonweapon) although many of them aren't necessarily class specific.

Posting xp: as I mentioned when we started the game, characters are awarded xp for participation. When I do the summaries, usually every 2-3 weeks, I will also add up the actual number of your posts. Every post: 25 exp. Realy nice, substantive post: 50 exp. And yes, one that I think is just "Wow!": 100 exp. Its is subjective, but you get the idea - you will be rewarded for posting often. NOTE: One line posts will get NO EXP, however. I don't like 'em :p

Roleplaying xp: After I add up all of the other xp, I add a percentage of it back in based on how well you are roleplaying your character. This is based on personality and background, class, and things that happen to the character in the game. Yup, subjective as well.

This is all sounding a lot more complex than it really is. I have a great little excel spreadsheet that quickly adds these things up for me, ez pz. I try to stick to a RL sced of posting at least once/month an update on experience awards. It is done at the same time for everyone, though privately. It is up to you to RP level increase, should you choose to do so.

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Character desriptions and pictures: I need everyone to send me a public description of their characters to be posted on the players page of the website. If you have a picture, feel free to send that to me (remember to note the artist). I will post turn summaries and player maps on their respective pages.

Character's Home Town: I want everyone to decide what town they come from in Kaldor (or Thay, Burzyn, Orbaal). You can not be from Melderyn or Tharda. You can not begin from Olokand (where the adventure starts) or Wythian or Loban (Where the adventure is going). Nor can you have ever traveled down the Fur road. You may be of the Barbarian tribes that ring Kaldor, but NOT of the Taelda. I want everyone to learn about the wilds of the north together.

* Please note, if you choose a city in Kaldor as your “home city”, I will reward you with a free +5 skill points. *

Decide why your PC has arrived at Olokand, for the first time, the gateway of the frontier in the Northwest of Kaldor. It can be something simple, like “looking for loot” or something more complex like “being pursued by agents of Baron MacNasty for having a romance with his daughter” etc. I will gladly change things a bit to fit your story.

Please check out the great map of the entire Kingdom of Kaldor and environs (sadly, too big to be posted on this free website). You will find it on our 100rye yahoo groups page. I believe you must be a member of the 100rye yahoo group's site to access it. It has all the below towns listed:

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A summary of cities/areas your character can begin from:

Tashal, capital of the kingdom of Kaldor: Oldest and by far the largest city in Kaldor, Tashal is a teaming city of almost 100,000 souls. Built on the ruins of the previous peoples, it boasts modern sewers (thought to have been built by the Dwarves for the previous owners) and a huge outer wall, from which at least 50% of the city has spilt out of and built around. City of Merchants, of the most Powerful Noble families and of the infamous Thieves guild, that suffers no rival. Tashal is the center and the heart of the kingdom of Kaldor.

Gardiren: Northern Keep and village, ancestral home of the HighCastle Family. Until the opening of river traffic, all trade from Azadamere (The city of the reclusive Dwarves) came overland via a long, dangerous road. Two generations ago, with the founding of the port town of Kiban to the east on the river Nephen, trade was diverted to Kiban, and the status of wealth of Gardiren was vastly diminished. Now the once proud city has been reduced to half its size, and its lord, Baron HighCastle, has had several land disputes with the Baron of Olokand.

Getha: Village in the hills north-east of Gardiren, it is famous for the Lotus Monastery. A contemplative order of Monks that have removed themselves from society, the Order of the Lotus is known for the extreme kindness and perspicacity of the its brethern. Immediately north-east of Getha is the “Bone Bridge” that once spanned the Nephen on the road to Zerhun. Supposedly the Bone bridge is made of the bones of some ancient and gigantous creature. The bridge was destroyed in a massive flood approx. 20 years ago.

Kiban: Thriving river port, trade from Zerhun arrives here now, as well as from the city of Nenda to the east. An outer wall for the growing city is about 50% completed, as well as a large temple of Helm. The previous temple of Helm burned to the ground 2 years ago under mysterious circumstances. What makes it particularly tragic was an attached storehouse of the Mangai Guild (Magic-Users Guild).

Minarsas: Middle sized city with a large fortress, Minarsas was the center of activity for the eradication of the Savage tribe called the “Boii” about 40 years ago. The Boii were a savage people, who eschewed the use of armor, but were strong in elemental magics. Calling demons of air and trees themselves, it took 2 generations to drive them off and finally subdue them. Now only a handful of pitiable tribes exist far to the east, sometimes trading in peace at Nenda, sometimes raiding caravans, villages. The present Baron of Minarsas is rumored to be a cruel despot, and is treating the serfs and villains of the area like virtual slaves. There have been several rebellions, all of which have been cruelly and ruthlessly put down. Those that can are leaving the area, and either moving south to the Burzyn area, or to the opening frontier in the north-west.

Atberen: small village in the west, on the road between Minarsas and Qualdris, Atberen is most well known for its fine malts, and that it is the seat of the Gray Wanderers, the Kingdom Order of Rangers. The Gray Wanderers have special license to travel where they will, and exercise their authority, granted by the king, to safeguard the people of Kaldor. Largely despised by the nobility, the Wanderers have a great prestige with peasants and the working people of the kingdom. They have intruded so strongly into the Minarsus area that the Baron there has – against the will of the crown – outlawed them in the towns and villages under his control (The area in and around Minarsus).

Sirendel: Once the capital of the Boii people, Sirendel is now a thriving agricultural village. There are several stone monolyphs in the area that are said to be haunted. Many have been destroyed, but those that remain are just too large/complex to easily tear down.

Qualdris: Large merchant city, on the road from Tashal to Burzyn, Qualdris has become famous as the main Hall of the Order of Mangai, the order of Magic-Users. In this large city, magic can be openly seen being used, and there is a large university where the best and wealthiest families send their heirs to be trained. There is also a large library that is said to be ancient, and that predates the founding of Kaldor.

Kobing: Last Kaldorian city on the road to Burzyn, it is a caravan hub as well as a hub for the marshalling of armies.

Jedes: Last Kaldorian city on the Kald river, Jedes sees trade from the wild and horse-loving Hoidiri from the west. It is also said Elven traders from Ulfshaven can be seen there, from time to time.

Also, there are dozens of smaller villages and walled towns throughout Kaldor. If your story requires you to make up one of your own – fine! As long as you steer clear of the Olokand area, and incorporate what you find above – I will support whatever you want to create.

Cities/Areas outside Kaldor:

Ulfshaven: What remains of the dying Elves is at Ulfshaven. Their remarkable river boats are for sale, as well as some trade with the kingdoms in the remote west. Sometimes Ships of Melderyn are seen there as well. Most of the population is Human, but its rulers are elves.

Thay: Vast port city on the east coast of Harn, Thay rivals Tashal for size, but accepts the rule of no one. Traders leave for far away Ivinia to the North-east, Orbaal and even Melderyn. Thayers are said to have strong ethics, but no morals. Merchant lords run the city-state, and have somehow kept the city free from the dominion of Kaldor, Melderyn or Ivinia. Anything imaginable is for sale there, as is anything conceivable.

City State of Burzyn: Built on the ruins of an ancient Dwarven Fortress, Burzyn existed as an outpost of Melderyn centuries ago, a strong sentinel of some long disappeared enemy. When Kaldor declared itself, Burzyn tried to free itself of Melderyn, unsuccessfully. Years later, learned men came there from the west with the ideals of a republic. They successfully rallied the people, cast out the Melderyn Lords and set up their own free City-State. Since then, both Melderyn and Kaldor have tried to subdue the wild city, with little success. At the moment, Burzyn permits itself to be called a free city-state of Kaldor.

Orbaal: Once a Gaelic Kingdom of Celtic lords, never able to unite under their king, the land was invaded by Ivinian looters who decided to stay and set up their fortress of Geldeheim. Now several Gaelic lords have sided with the Ivinians, and the land is more than ever close to civil war. The most southern town is Lerial, whose Lord is of the old Celtic people and who refuses to swear fealty to the Ivian Lord of Geldeheim (who styles himself “king” of Orbaal). This is also where the great Fur road begins that links Orbaal and Kaldor by land. The only other way to trade with Kaldor is by sea, and to pay the ruinous tariffs of Thay or to deal with other smugglers.

Orbaal ia a mountainous country with many valleys and poor roads. For millennia the native Gaelic people have lived there, never needing to unite because of the harsh north sea to the east and the remote, impassable Falshea mountains to the west. The primitive Korbora tribes in the north-west raid into Orbaal from time to time but have never been a serious threat, nor have the reclusive Taelda to the south.

The main threat has always been - each other, and raids from over the storm-filled north sea from Ivinia. This came to a head some 20 years ago when a huge force of Ivinians under one chief sailed in and took over the walled city of Geldeheim, an island just off the north coast of Orbaal. There they set up their "capital" and Ragnar Bloodspear declared himself "King" of Orbaal.

He then very cleverly began buying off, and/or bullying the nearest Gaelic lords into joining him and publicly becoming his vassals. Many refused however, and civil war raged. This lasted almost five years, and ended with a rather complex shuffling of loyalties among the Gaelic lords.

Also, more Ivinians arrived, both at Geldeheim, and to other "friendly" Gaelic cities. Notably Sherwyn, Marby and Zuden are now "Loyalist" Cities (Ivinian control), while Tirien, Nobloc and Lerial remain "independent" (publicly paying respect to the "king" in Geldeheim, allowing trade, but still not accepting his rulership). Peace hangs by a thread, and has done so the last 15 years.

Lerial itself is an ancient and unusually large walled Gaelic city. It has about 2000 people, with an attached Motte and Bailey Fortress, made of stone. It is on a flat hilltop, surrounded by deep grassland.

Lerial is famous for its cattle, its barley and its beer. In the west are several smaller communities, in the dells and mountains, and they're chief product is raising sheep, and the wonderfully thick wool.

Characters from Lerial speak Gaelic as their primary language (free), and may add proficiency in other languages: Ivinian, Tharri ("common", that which is spoken in the south), and Kusar (the language spoken by the Korbora, the barbarians to the west). No one knows how to speak Taelda, as they refuse to use their tongue, and use hand signals in the rare times they have traded.

Note: If you choose to be a native Orbaalese, fine. But you have not yet had the experience of traveling the Fur Road, nor is your arrival to Olakand via the Fur Road. Most likely, you traveled by boat to Thay, and than overland into Kaldor.

Barbarian Tribes:

Boii: Once spread across almost all of eastern Harn, the Boii have now been reduced in size to approx. 20 tribes. Their numbers are actually much larger than most Kaldorans believe, and The Boii, who call themselves the Boii-hiren-Nahii (pronounced “Bo-ee Here-in Na Hee”), are strong Druidic casters, with a strong sense of magic as a natural part of life. Most tribes have a guardian spirit that the tribe is named after (The Bear tribe, the mountain-Lion Tribe, the wolf tribe)and strives to emulate. They view about half of eastern Kaldor as their homeland, and dream of one day uniting to crush and drive out the invaders of Kaldor. In all their long history, they have never been able to unite. They have villages that stretch from the area around Zerhun, through the east side of Lake Tontury, and to the headwaters of the river Osel (used by smugglers of Thay to get to Kaldor).

Hoidiri: Horse-loving nomadic people west of Kaldor, they are said to have friendly relations with the few remaining elves of Shava Deep to the south. It is said there is an ancient ruins of the Elven people deep in the hills to the west that the Hoidiri hold as sacred, and keep people from on pain of death. Deadly foes of the Paegelin.

Paegelin: Tribes in the south, below Setha heath that are always warring upon one another. The Paegelin hire themselves out as mercenaries to anyone with gold, and known to be rapacious, tough and ruthless warriors. It is said they commonly take fleshy souvenirs from their victims/those they defeat. Deadly foes of the Hoidiri.

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Languages of the Realms:

You have your home language as a free language. Below are some other languages that may have been researched.

Common (called “Thari” by outsiders of Kaldor)

Orbaalese (The Gaelic peoples)

Islander’s Way (The language of the Gaelic folk of the Balaka Islands, north-east of Orbaal. Derivative of Orbaalese, but with a heavy, archaic accent)

Ivinian

Melderynian (derivative of Elvish, also the native tongue of Thay and Burzyn) *cc

Bandan (Language of the Boii)

Haalari (Language of the hoidiri)

Sath-Haalar (Language of the Paegelin Clans)

Kusar (Language of the Kuboran Tribes, west of Orbaal)

Elvish (must have a very strong reason and the education to have learned text book Elvish) *cc

Dwarvish and Taelda : Not applicable, no one can take these as a starting language. However, it and others not listed may possibly be learned “in game”.

*cc : Note that even if you have a bio history that incorporates access to higher learning, the languages Melderynian and Elvish will still be treated as “cross-class” skills (Exception : Unless you are a native of Thay or Burzyn, in which case Melderynian is your native language, and is a “class” skill)

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