The City of Sasserine lies perched on the edge of the known world, the last stop before the endless expanse of the Amedio Jungle. It is a hub for trade and home to more than fifteen thousand souls -- a bastion of civilization in a realm plagued by piracy, disease, violent weather, and monsters. This campaign begins in the exotic port city of Sasserine, and it is here that the foundations of your character will be laid.
Sasserine began not as a city, but as a woman. Over 700 years ago, a cleric of Wee Jas named Sasserine woke one night after a particularly vivid dream of a hidden cove, protected from the sea by vast cliffs and from the land by steaming swamps and jungles. In this vision, she beheld a thriving city and a glittering spire of scarlet stone, and knew Wee Jas had visited her with a prophecy. Sasserine called together her followers, including her lover Teraknian, a soldier and worshiper of Kord, and set out to find this hidden cove. Diseases, accidents, and monsters took their toll, and near the end, despair gnawed at Sasserine's pilgrims. Finally, their numbers reduced to less than a quarter of their initial strength, these pilgrims emerged into a bounteous stretch of land with fertile soil and fields of exotic plants sheltered by twin shoreline cliffs. Sasserine recognized the landscape at once, but Shelya had not warned her of the black dragon that had taken the cove as his territory. Mere hours after the pilgrims had thankfully fed on the abundant plants and had only just begun to hope they had found their new home, the dragon Zelkarune struck. Enraged at this final trial, Sasserine stood her ground against the dragon and defeated it -- but at a terrible cost. For in delivering the final strike, Sasserine had been forced to step between Zelkarune's claw and Teraknian; the blow meant for him instead laid her low, just as she called down a bolt of fire from the sky to slay the dragon.
In the days to follow, the survivors turned to Teraknian for leadership, who vowed to found a city in Sasserine's name. It was the year -124 cy, and over the seven centuries to follow, Sasserine would mature into one of the great hidden wonders of the south.
Of late the city has seen adventure and trouble in equal measure. House Vandeboren, once a noble and proud house has fallen upon hard times with the death of the House Lord and his lady in a mysterious fire. They left behind their diligent and hard working daughter Lavinia and their wastrel son Vanthus and seemingly debts and trouble. However all was not as it seemed! Lavinia, down on her luck hired some local adventurers including Lara and Grimgor and they managed to retrieve the Blue Nixie from some toughs trading illegale animal at the dock side.
Investigating Vanthus they were trapped upon a small island filled with zombies and soon thereafter discovered Vanthus had taken a lover, none other than Roywn Kellani who was head of the Lotus Dragons, and who Vanthus was funneling the Vanderboren wealth to. Lara, Grimgor and some others however detsroyed the guild, slaying them all and were feted as heroes by Lavinia who kept them on as retainers alongside the renowned Jade Ravens.
Having more evidence that Vanthus had killed her parents (as well as stealing her money and trying to kill Lara, Grimgor and friends) the party had journeyed to Kraken Cove on the far side of Jeklea Bay in search of Vanthus. Hear the discovered chaos instead. A wrecked ship with a mysterious black pearl that had shattered and spread a deadly Savage fever leaving the pirates infected and mutated into savage beasts. THe party had slain the pirates of the cove without loss meeting Hariss Javell, a captain of the Scarlet fleet and one beset by savage pirates. the meeting was short however as Javell informed the party that she now had a vendetta against Vanthus (as he had smashed the pearl and spread the savage fever), and in fact the entire Vanderboren family, and that she had already dispatched men to Sasserine to kill “his family, his friends, his pets, anyone who owes him money, people he went to school with, people he drinks with, and whatever slut he keeps at port”. As this included their employer, Lavinia, and as the die had already been cast, the party’s meeting with Javell was short as they raced back to Sasserine and their employer’s aid. However, before they left they managed to make a good impression on the captain by helpfully healing her wounds and loudly and convincingly decreeing their hatred for Vanthus and their desire to see him dead, and Harliss expressed regret at calling for Lavinia’s death, giving the party one of her earrings as a code to her first mate, whom she dispatched with the task, to listen to the party’s message. The party had managed to get back to Lavinia's manor and dispatch the bullywugs saving the jade ravens and Lavinia!
Now Lavinia has declared she will seek new fortune at Farshore, the colony her parents founded on the fabled Isle of Dread. Commissioning two ships, her own Blue Nixie and the one rune by her friend Lara Dantalion, the Sea Wyvren she has recruited brave colonists and travellers to journey with her.....