Root & Ruin

A Dark-Fantasy DnD Campaign

The campagin follows an adventuring party dispatched by the Holy Empire to the dying region of Briaire.Their official mission: Rebuild a crumbling hamlet and restore order.
Their actual experience: The land resists, the locals are suspicious, and the "monsters" might just be the local tax collectors.Sometimes, the real horror isn't in the dark... it's in the paperwork.

Streamed live on Youtube every Monday @ 7pm CET from two perspectives:
Xraxia (Player View) and Matery (DM View)

Characters

Setting

The World of Gritt

Gritt is a dark-fantasy world where survival is never guaranteed and justice is a luxury few can afford. War is constant, famine is cyclical, and power belongs almost exclusively to the strong, the ruthless, and the wealthy. Kingdoms rise on the backs of the poor, churches preach hope they cannot deliver, and those without influence are crushed beneath systems designed to exploit them. Players will have to make complicated moral decisions in order to survive and accomplish their goals, whilst simultaneously dealing with the consequences of said decisions.Decades ago, this world was forever changed by a cataclysmic event now known as The Quiet Rapture.
It was not loud, nor glorious. There were no great explosions, no fire from the heavens. Instead, something simply stopped.
Entire populations vanished overnight. Magic warped and fractured. Faith was shaken as prayers went unanswered. To this day, no one agrees on what truly happened or why it ended as suddenly as it began.The Rapture left behind abandoned cities, broken bloodlines, and a lingering dread that the world itself is unfinished. Its consequences still echo through politics, religion, magic, and everyday life. Many believe it could happen again.Scholars and Sailors agree on the existence of five known continents which vary wildly in landscape, culture and climate:
- Bretonnia: A war-torn land where three rival clans endlessly seize territory, knowing full well it will be torn from them again.
- Lusia: A frozen continent locked in an eternal snowstorm. Once home only to high elves, now strained by waves of desperate refugees.
- Miyojima: A vast chain of islands ruled by animal-folk whose lives are governed by strict tradition, lineage, and familial duty.
- Priscillus: Endless golden fields under the rule of the Gilded Queen, chosen of Melichor. Though dead, her voice still guides her people.
- Stain: The continent most scarred by the Quiet Rapture, shattered by magic into four clashing biomes: glass desert, ice mountains, vine-choked jungle, and colossal hilltops.The one being focused on in this campaign is Priscillus.

History of the Rolling Resistance Alliance

When Priscillus was still weak from the Quiet Rapture and enemies approached from every side, a human woman took her sword in hand and defended her home in the name of Melichor, the God of Light.
Her mortal strength, unyielding hope and strong belief moved many and she quickly started to gain a huge following that would free the land from evil. Even her political enemies couldn't deny that her mere presence frightened both monsters and demons, so they came together and proposed an Alliance.
The cities will join what would soon be known as the Rolling Resistance while still retaining their own cultures, their own laws and rules. Rillo was pronounced the holy capital of Priscillus and the headquarters of the Rolling Resistance. Every other major city was assigned a Holy Helmsmen to protect them from evil and inform the capital of incoming dangers.
In return for this protection, she only wanted to see the people of Priscillus happy. And in the end, she succeeded.
Her name was Cora Dioun. And even after death, she still remains the Gilded Mother of Priscillus.Gilded Son:
Five years ago, before the Gilded Mother was pronounced dead, she gave birth to a son. This baby was underdeveloped and should've died on the spot... but through sheer will, it didn't. Melichor gave his blessing and, with the help of high-ranking officials, created an incubator so that the Gilded Son may one day rule over his Mothers Empire. The public’s opinion was split upon hearing this revelation: The Futurists who can’t wait for the Gilded Sons' arrival and the Olds who believe that a new Gilded Mother should take Cora’s place.Current State of Priscillus:
As soon as the Gilded Mother died, the creatures that lurked in the darkness emerged from their hiding places and began attacking the Golden Land. Enemies from distant continents seized the opportunity, taking over farms, villages, and even small cities. The capital declared a state of emergency, and all rulers convened for an urgent council.
From this meeting emerged The Protection Act.With the aid of powerful magicians and priests of Melichor, a magical stone wall was erected around Rillo, hallowing the ground within. This enchantment could keep even the most powerful demons at bay - as long as enough believers remained inside, praying.But what of the rest of Priscillus? With the help of giant holy turtles, the wall slowly expanded across the land, though this expansion diminished the Hallow effect. A massive military mobilization was launched to recruit as many outsiders as possible, ensuring the wall maintained its power.
According to the Whisperer, the Gilded Mother does not wish to force anyone into this decision. Instead, the military strives to convince the people through what they do best: Offer protection and provide hope.

Ranks of the Gilded Empire

  1. Gilded Mother: The Empress has the final say.

  2. The Ashen Whisperer: The only person capable of talking to the Gilded Mother's corpse. Selected by the people of Rillo, blessed by Melichor himself

  3. *Divine General: Creates and maintains the Command Structure of the Empire. Capable of making high-level decisions. Reports directly to the Gilded Mother

  4. Holy Helmsman: Every city (and sometimes other important locations) gets assigned one. Responsible for the assigned cities safety in accordance to the Rolling Resistance

  5. Mogul: Represents the Holy Helmsman on diplomatic missions. Capable of leading a small unit and managing resources surrounding the assigned city

  6. Sergeant: Trains soldiers and enforces discipline. Commands a medium unit, plans missions, gathers information

  7. Reverent: Commands a small unit of specially trained soldiers for religious missions. Interacts with spiritual beings and maintains bonds. They report to The Whisperer

  8. Silver Quill: Mail carriers or Messengers who deliver important letters/documents to high ranking officials. High-security job where people are constantly background-checked and need to be approved by the Divine General

  9. Private: Follows orders from superiors and performs basic soldier duties. Backbone of the Rillorian Military

House Rules

Short Rest Change:
You can Short Rest a maximum of 2 times per Long Rest. They only last 10 minutes instead of an hour.Injury Table:
Whenever a Player Character falls to 0 HP, a d100 on the Injury Table is rolled (Table is not available for the public).Resurrection Rules:
Death Is a Door That Hates Being Opened.
In this world, there are no revival spells or features. Death claims the soul instantly. Once the heart stops, the soul is already moving on - and calling it back is an act of violence against the natural order. Resurrection exists, but it is a forbidden practice, used only in the darkest corners of the world.Bonds: (Modified version, original from the TTRPG: His Majesty the Worm)
The relationships you have with all the other members of your party are called Bonds. Bonds are reflected on your adventurer sheet in terms of simple sentences: “I am Petyr’s mentor,” or “Grendel is my ally.”Your Bonds become charged when you play them to the hilt or when they put you in danger.
If you play a Bond to the hilt, you exemplify the relationship represented by the Bond.Basic suggestions for this role-play are given in the descriptions of the example Bonds below; however, the GM can call for the Bond to be charged by other examples of excellent roleplaying, too.• Players, just ask the GM when you think you’ve done a great job. GMs, be generous and honest.
If your Bond puts you in danger, you make a choice that puts your adventurer at a disadvantage or takes a big risk for the sake of exemplifying their Bond.• Players, ask your GM if you think your choice really jeopardizes you. GMs, be generous and honest. Charges may be burned during the Camp Phase to heal Wounds and recover Sanity. For each charge you burn, you get a bonus tied to your Bond.Sanity & Stress:
As adventurers travel through the World of Gritt, Stress accumulates and Sanity is lost. If left unattended, losing too much sanity will break even the bravest of heroes.Sanity
Each adventurer has a Sanity Ability Score, also known as Sanity Points (SP). Every adventurer starts with 10 SP to a maximum of 20 and a minimum of 0.Sanity is a passive, long-term stat that is lost while adventuring and encountering fears, horrors and darkness. It's up to the DM to manage these points and should be deducted/recovered scarcely.Pushing Yourself
Sometimes, adventurers risk their mental state in order to fulfill impossible tasks. After you've rolled an Ability Check, the DM declared the roll a failure and revealed the DC, you can expend up to 5 SP to roll bonus dice. Each SP equals a bonus of 1d4 which you add to the original result.Meltdown
When an adventurer reaches 0 SP, they must roll a d100. If the roll is a 90 or below, they suffer a Meltdown and receive the following debuffs:
Antisocial: All Bonds lose their charge
Hopeless: Critical successes are treated as normal rolls. You cannot gain advantage on any rolls.
Weakened: Your Max HP is reduced by 20%.
-> A Meltdown ends when the Sanity Score returns to a 5 or aboveIf the roll is above a 90, the adventurer becomes Virtuous and receives the following buffs:
Courage: Immediately set your SP to 15 and gain a Heroic Inspiration.
Unbreakable: During the next encounter, all rolls are made with advantage and heal 1d8 at the start of your turn (if already in an encounter, the buff applies immediately).
Clear Mind: All Wisdom, Intelligence and Sanity Checks or Saving Throws are made with advantage.
-> The Buffs last until the next Long Rest (Your SP stays at 15)Sanity Recovery
Since Sanity is a passive stat, there aren't many active ways for an adventurer to gain them back. Most should involve some form of character development, breakthroughs in the story or other positive events.Standard ways to recover Sanity:
- Time: After a Long Rest, roll a Sanity Saving Throw. Depending on the location and your lifestyle, the DC changes
- Positive Interactions / Relations: Using Bonds, having a breakthrough
- Therapy: Going to an NPC that has the Therapy Role
- Great Triumphs: Leveling Up

Involvement

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