I decided to make this breakdown of the basics of our 3.5 campaign, so that any new players can get an idea of what's went on before. Keep in mind, this is a very short, concise wrap up of those events. So, basically, don't get mad at me if I forget something that you think was important. (If you really do think that I missed something important, let me know and I'll work it in.)

THE STORY...

The entirety of our 3.5 campaign took place in the Bolers Archipelago. On the island of Tokma, situated near the center of the archipelago, a group of adventurers were brought together by the Long Roads Adventuring Company. The core members of this group were Arius, a cursed elf warlock who survived the destruction of the elven kingdom of Galdria in the southern archipelago; Jeyld, a gnome bard and long time companion of Arius, who called the City of All Names on the northern island of Tenshiir home; and Hayato, a human from the distant island of Hai-Lan, trained in the ancient ways of martial arts. Throughout their journey, the trio came to know many other adventurers who joined them in their cause. Some of these brave individuals went their own ways (namely Azada the wizard and Liet the druid, with his wolf companion Java), and others came to join the adventurers in their quest, vowing to aid them to the end. Those that chose to aid Arius, Jeyld, and Hayato were Febrien, a ranger and fellow Galdrian elf; Alaya, a mysterious human woman who was also a ranger; Jaden, a young halfling cleric who worshipped Pelor; and Brude, an enigmatic half elf sorceror of questionable alignment.

In the course of their adventuring, the group found themselves facing off against a trio of enemies known as the Anti-Triumvirate. They were Tenket, a halfling ninja; Akab, a powerful and mysterious wizard; and Tempest, a dark warlock and the one responsible for not only Galdria's destruction over a century earlier, but also the villain who cursed Arius a decade ago. There were many battles against the Anti-Triumvirate and their minions, and in this time many new things involving the adventurers came to light. Alaya, who had secretly been searching for any trace of the vanished people of her village, learned that they had all been killed by a band of vampires years earlier. After tracking down and destroying the vampires, Alaya was given a magical hairpin that allowed her to enter a magical realm where she could live in peace forever with her family, who had managed to use the hairpin to escape death at the vampires' hands. The entire island of Tokma was demolished and turned into a place of great evil by a Balor, who had taken over Tenket's body. When the halfling ninja was killed in battle by Brude, the Balor was released and went on a rampage, forcing the adventurers to retreat rather than die a horrible death. Also, Jeyld found himself being subtly changed into a blue dragon disciple, a "gift" from his father, a blue dragon called Belradontius. Hayato unintentionally found himself married to a half-orc barmaid named Gurl, and with a litter of "pups" on the way. And, unbeknownst to his companions, Brude made a dangerous and life-altering pact with a group of blood mages, to gain ever more power. Jaden, though, was also keeping a secret from his allies: he was an agent for the Velvet Hand, a group within the Long Roads who had their own intentions with the adventurers. Throughout all of this, Arius, aided by his old friend Febrien, continued his quest for revenge against Tempest, hoping each day to find a way to break his horrible curse.

Their road eventually led them to Jeyld's home of the City of All Names, which, shortly afterward, was attacked by a force of warlocks sent by none other than Tempest, Arius' eternal nemesis. After a long, hard battle, the city lay in ruins, thanks not only to the invaders, but also to Arius' cursed power and a new, devastating technique unleashed by Hayato. Many were slain, but in all of this chaos and destruction, new life was found, as Gurl finally gave birth to Hayato's children. Finally, it seemed as if the way to stop the Anti-Triumvirate once and for all and to free Arius from his curse lay far to the south, in the ruined kingdom of Galdria. The decision was hard, but Arius and Febrien also agreed, though they were afraid to return to the destruction that had once been their home.

There, among the ruins of the once-great realm, a final battle between the Anti-Triumvirate (Akab, Tempest, and the Balor) and the heroes (Arius, Jeyld, Hayato, Febrien, Brude, Gurl and Jaden) took place. While his friends fought valiantly against their enemies, Arius found himself in possession of an artifact known as "The Heart of Galdria," and he was told in a vision that the only way to destroy the Anti-Triumvirate and cleanse the horrifying ruins of Galdria was to channel all of his arcane and cursed power into his blade, and to strike the Heart. By doing so, he would release all of the souls trapped in Galdria's destruction: enough power to save them all, but at a terrible cost. The battle continued, and just before the Balor could attack and kill the heroes, Belradontius, the blue dragon who was the father of Jeyld, swooped in and attacked, keeping him distracted while the others continued their fight. In the midst of the chaos, Brude found himself being controlled by Tempest and Akab, for it had been THEY who were responsible for his blood pact. The half elf tried to kill Arius with a death spell, but barely missed, and was ridden down and killed by both Jeyld and Febrien. Finally, Arius had gathered enough energy. Sensing something amiss, Belradontius picked up Jeyld and flew away, leaving the others behind on Galdria, though Jeyld refused and fought the entire way. Arius thrust his rapier blade through the Heart of Galdria, instantly destroying it and setting off a chain of events that would alter the face of Bolermos forever.

THE AFTERMATH...

Arius, Febrien, Hayato, Gurl, and Jaden were instantly killed in the blast, along with the Anti-Triumvirate. The cost, though, was even greater than this: the old gods of Bolermos (Boler, Pelor, and Zrent) were also destroyed in the detonation, leaving Bolermos in religious chaos. Jeyld never played music again, and somehow, through some kind of mystic connection, music in general was forgotten and lost to the whole of Bolermos.

As time passed, new gods came to Bolermos (including Belradontius, who was deified), Jeyld became a demi-god himself and created the dragonborn race, and normalcy slowly returned to the world. The archipelago was forever altered, with lowered water levels and new masses of land thrust up from the ocean floor. Galdria became little more than one massive, seemingly bottomless crater, where water continuously drained deep into the world. New cities and cultures arose, and those brave heroes who gave their lives for the greater good went on to become saints and legends to the people of Bolers Archipelago...

Unbeknownst to the people, though, the ancient heroes of old weren't QUITE as dead as they believed. Rather, they simply waited in the Void for the time when they would be needed again... (Wondering what the heroes were doing? Check out "A One Thousand Year Dream"!)

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Want to know what happened next? Check out "The History of Bolermos, Part II (4th Edition Campaign 1) in the "Modern Bolermos" section!

AMdG