Vengeance is a high fantasy campaign set in Avaris, a continent of sovereign cultures, living myths, ancient powers, and growing unrest. For generations, the great regions of Avaris have remained mostly self-sufficient, trading little, guarding their own customs, and avoiding war. That peace is now breaking. Strange attacks, divine storms, missing travelers, dragon sightings, cult activity, and buried magic suggest that someone is pushing the world toward catastrophe. The players are not bound to one homeland or one fate—they are free to come from anywhere in Avaris, or even beyond it, and choose for themselves why they become part of the story. This keeps the campaign open-ended and character-driven while preserving the world’s larger conflicts. The original game overview establishes Avaris as a continent of sovereign, self-sufficient regions, with peace fractured by a devastating attack and rising instability.
The campaign should feel mythic, colorful, adventurous, and heartfelt. There are real dangers, ancient grudges, and high stakes, but this is not grimdark. The world should have room for humor, wonder, found family, festivals, rivalry, culture clash, magical absurdity, and triumphant heroism. Players should feel that Avaris is a world worth saving, not merely surviving.
Unknown to most of the world, Cinis of Aitho is the architect behind many of Avaris’s tragedies. From the shadows of the volcanic stronghold of Aitho, he has manipulated raids, disasters, disappearances, dragon attacks, and regional instability to weaken the bonds between nations and prepare the continent for a new age under his control. Publicly, these events seem disconnected: storms near Piraeus, spiritual unrest in Amicalola, militant pressure in Tetzcoco, mysterious powers stirring in Sumer, and dragon-linked violence tied to Aitho. But behind them all is Cinis, patiently engineering fear, division, and dependency until Avaris is desperate enough to be reshaped. Aitho is already established in your world notes as a mysterious volcanic domain associated with isolation, fear, and rumors of dragons, which makes it a strong anchor for Cinis’s hidden power base.
This campaign should not force players into the original “your village was destroyed and now you seek vengeance” opening. That story can exist as part of the setting’s recent history, but it should be one thread among many. Players can come from:
Wyverngard as wyvern riders, hunters, scouts, smiths, or survivors
Sumer as scribes, priests, astrologers, judges, or scholars
Tetzcoco as warriors, temple guards, nobles, or ritual specialists
Piraeus as merchants, sailors, swindlers, mercenaries, or pilgrims
Eyrnheim as smiths, raiders, skalds, shield-bearers, or rune-keepers
Amicalola as storytellers, trackers, spirit-guides, or hunters
Hirota Temple as disciplined initiates or wandering disciples
Elsewhere, as outsiders drawn by prophecy, trade, exile, curiosity, or duty
Your world overview already frames these lands as distinct, sovereign cultures with different values, technologies, spiritual traditions, and specialties.
Wyverngard – Mountainous wyvern homeland, proud, bold, clan-driven, adventurous.
Sumer – Sacred scholarship, ancient law, sun worship, wisdom, and magical study.
Tetzcoco – Ritual discipline, divine obligation, military precision, agriculture, and sacred lightning.
Piraeus – Bustling trade port, sea travel, gossip, commerce, storms, and opportunity.
Eyrnheim – Stoic northern stronghold of craftsmanship, honor, seafaring memory, and endurance.
Amicalola – Story-rich highland/forest region tied to folklore, spirit balance, humor, and stern kindness.
Hirota Temple – Secluded mountain order of disciplined warriors who intervene only against truly continent-shaping evil.
Aitho – Volcanic mystery, dragon rumors, forbidden ascent, and Cinis’s hidden domain.
Legacy — inherited duty, old wounds, sacred traditions, and the burden of history.
Choice — players decide what they protect, reject, unite, or destroy.
Connection — trust, friendship, reputation, alliance, and found family matter.
Myth Becoming Reality — old stories, gods, monsters, and prophecies are no longer distant.
Do not reveal him early. Let players first experience the world as a collection of local problems. Then slowly show patterns:
dragon sightings near unrelated tragedies
identical cult symbols in multiple regions
survivors describing the same black-armored figure
stolen relics that all point toward draconic rites
weather, monsters, and unrest intensifying in sync
That way, when Cinis is revealed, it lands as “oh, all of this was connected.”