The Campaign
A guide to nevermore
History. It was once said that a campaign is like true love,
Introduction for the course of neither has run smooth. That being the
case, the Nevermore players are still waiting for something,
campaign somehow, to go wrong. When I began the game in the
spring of 1998, I was coming from eight years of experience
Characters as a DM, and four years as a Planescape DM, but never
before had I even participated in an on-line game. Now,
neverwell any blood worth his salt would be an addle-cove if he
didn't admit there were problems, but the occasional
DM techniques glitch in scheduling or lack of key players never slowed us
down. "What doesn't kill you makes you stronger." Then
The Palace again, dealing with the JAVA errors of WebRPG while
squinting at tiny font and trying to remember the DM's
storyboard story at the wee hours of the morning could very well lay
even a canny planewalker in the Dead Book.
New monsters
Synopsis. The Nevermore campaign is strongly character
Links driven, but there is a clearly developing story which is
central to the adventures the PCs engage in. A magic
book has been stolen from the Palace of Judgement known
as the Petitioner's Tome, which contains the names of all
the petitioners ever punished by the Palace of Judgement.
Not only are these their names, but their True Names no
less. The PCs are charged with tracking the tome down,
and as they uncover theft after theft, they pierce the veil
to gaze upon the true plot to subvert the Lady of Pain.
The question is: will they stand by Her side or no?
Theme. Above all else, the Nevermore campaign is about
the idea of emptiness, of mortals struggling to understand
nothingness. Here's an exercise. Try to imagine infinity.
If you are at most half-barmy you recognize that it's a bob
task, a cat's game, no way to win. Now try to imagine
nothing. Can't really pin a positive definition on it, can
you, friend? During the campaign the characters are faced
with answering these questions, hitting the blinds, and
asking the fundamental question: can mortals comprehend
nothing? If they can answer this they will have lanned a
crucial piece behind the meaning of the multiverse.
Characters. Above all things, with the possible exception
of the Nevermore campaign itself, are the characters. It
is they who change the face of the planes, suffer, prevail,
learn, and die. While "The Characters" section examines
them in much more depth, they are presented in an
abbreviated form here as they first appeared in the game.
Alborak (Pl/male voadkyn/F1/Godsman/CG)
Callas (Pl/male half-elf/F1/Cipher/NG)
Chian Jiang (Pr/male human/M2/Clueless/N)
Kanzaki (Pl/male human/F1/Cipher/LN)
Qa'nafel (Pl/male tiefling/F1/M1/Indep/CG)
Temujin (Pl/male human/P[Self]1/Signer/NG)
Tuang-Yi (Pl/male human/P[Chung Kuel]/Guvner/LG)
Non-Player Characters (NPCs). Here are the primary
friends and foes that the PCs have dealt with or will deal
with over the course of the game.
Crooked Nell An agent of the vile baatezu.
Fo-Pung The PCs' mentor and friend.
Fu Xi An exiled bureucrat turned rebellious warlord.
Graves Dustmen agent slain in Sigil.
Jarl Leather-headed agent of the Mercykillers
"Jenmi" A mysterious woman with no memory.
Mathwig Scheming agent of the Fraternity of Order.
Mmrph Heretic imprisoned beneath the Palace.
Morning Glory Petitioner sentenced to life on Elysium.
"Lantern Thief" Identified as the dead Rikimaru.
Yen-Ti An unscrupulous bureaucrat of the Palace.
Adventures. Below the exploits of the characters to date
can be found, though it bears notice that more are to come.
I. The Lantern Thief Relating the ventures of the PCs
to capture the elusive "Lantern Thief" and protect the
Petitioner's Tome. After laying the thief in the Dead
Book and losing the book to a canny knight-of-the-post,
the PCs are ready to get off the wrong foot and onto the
right one. The only question is, is the right one right?
II. Misplaced Spirit Wherein the PCs pursue an escaped
petitioner to Sigil. Battles with lemures are taken to the
streets, the party learns of the factions betting on
Morning Glory's capture, Temujin strives to earn the
affections of a 300 year old elven barkeep, and the PCs
manage to rescue Faithful Servant Li and Morning Glory
from the clutches of Crooked Nell.
III. Innocence Lost The story of the defense the PCs
provide for the petitioner, Morning Glory, in Yen-Wang-
Yeh's own court and the quest they undertake for Fo-
Pung's honor. To prove their dedication to protecting
the innocent, the PCs swear to recover Fo-Pung's
daughter from imprisonment in Carceri. Their journey
takes them to hell and back...in more ways than one.