The unwitting players tromping through the swamp won't know what hit them.

Ettercaps (the spindly evil woodfolk) are always good for traps: their pine woods are so dense it's difficult to see what's a trap, what's a branch and what's an ettercap...

‘I told Sir Ursus not to take the amulet, to leave it be in it's resting place. But he would not listen. We now trek to his place of hiding to remove the amulet and return it, and to destroy that which Ursus has become. '

- Arch-Danath Maccalas of the Dark Step Tribe

If you are a new member who found this thread by providence, read the advice, take it to heart, and post. These are collected posts that will help you understand the Citadel AND be more effective and efficient here.

It is a simple book, a codex, a few dozen loose folios bound together. The cover is heavy stock with a simple red hand that one hopes is impressed in red ink rather than blood.

This is an unofficial order of the King's Guard, those charged with protecting the castle, the king, and any holdings. The Red Hand are the elites of the prisioner guards.

The Order is a stanch defender of The Crown, despite that he has turned his back on traditional ways. They try to council him in 'proper ways' to handle things. They are known for their motto 'Tradition is my Shield'.

The Dark Oak Forest is a place of darkness, danger, and Evil. For reasons best not talked about, the Dark One has visited this place, twisting it forever.

This is the order of the Three Kingdoms, each kingdom volunteering men to serve in the Order. Each of the members must be an expert woodsman: able to survive in the Great Dark Oak Forest that borders all three Kingdoms.

The children of some of the murdered City Guards formed the 'White Knights', their stated aim being to help the City Guards crack down on crime.

The members of this obscure order specialize in growing funghi. Growing, researching and studying many kinds, they even try to create new ones.

The Bowmen of Love are a more or less secret organization found within the larger towns. For a price, they can be hired to drop a love potion into someone's drink or shoot them, not with a bow despite their name, but with a tiny blowpipe that fires a dart with a love potion on it.

An elite unit dedicated to The Queen.

The Tower of Troubles is a Mages guild where young wizards and sorcerors are trained in the Art. It arose as a compromise between the gods of Bareel and the human practitioners of magic.

The Order of Serpenthia has been a social group that uses Sarethian motiffs. It has been a gentleman's/ noble order for many years. It seems to center around supporting traditional values and forms, as well as respect for Elders.

The King's Hands are a secret espionage group. These agents secretly support the Crown, feretting out traitors, investigating military and political manuverings of other countries, stealing copies of plans and spells that would unbalance the status quo, and in short, making the world safe for good decent people and the Crown that supports them.

The Guild of Messengers is one of the few guilds/ orders accepted in every civilized and many near civilized lands. The Messengers know only their own special language and script (though they might know how to speak A dozen or so languages, they are prohibited to be literate in any other tongue). They are the tool of civilization, allowing for communication to be passed across the world (and the occasional small item as well).

Those of the Southern Territories were at a disadvantage at court. However, banded together, they become a mighty force for conservative and religious values.

The Brotherhood's goal was to preserve traditional Eshal practices and customs, with emphasis being placed on the belief that every member of the tribe mattered and that to ignore his rights and contributions, would result in the Clan collapsing.

The principal axiom of the Curalon Hestaris, and the basis of all its teachings, is this:

"Inhale. Kill. Exhale."