Bane of Greyfang Mountain

Game Description

The Lowlands Will Burn

You are the hammer of Ironhold. For generations your people — the ruthless Dragonborn, heartless clerics of Bane, Duergar Dwarves, and Tieflings of the mountain — have sharpened cruelty into an art form. Greyfang Mountain’s black forges never sleep. Its temples echo with prayers of tyranny. And now, the Iron Tyrant himself has turned his gaze downward.

The Blithewater River is no longer a barrier. It’s a staging ground.

Fortune’s Crossing—a superstitious town of Tymora’s fools—dares to sit across the river, its people wagering their futures on luck instead of steel. South of it, Laurenford’s farmers naively tend fields that will soon be ash. Further still, the soft cities of Alderra trade in their gold and grain, unaware that the mountain has finally woken.

You begin not as a hero, but as a conqueror-in-training: an officer, an agent, or a blade of the Ironhold war machine. You’ve been given troops, resources, and a mandate—break the Crossing, terrorize the countryside, and prove your worth to the Black Hand.

The quiet won’t just end. It will be annihilated.

This campaign is brutal, strategic, and gives players the opportunity to plan takeovers of cities, assassination of town leaders, sabotage of enemy supply lines, and the delicate art of crushing hope before it spreads. You are not saving anyone. You are taking.

Campaign Enhancement

This campaign includes a special ongoing feature: you will discover five unique tools of tyranny over the first five sessions—weapons, dark relics, or fanatical followers bound to Bane’s will.

• Each must be seized, excavated, or earned through ruthless acts
• Each offers a meaningful benefit (battlefield advantage, forbidden magic, intelligence networks, fear-based powers, etc.)
• Each also comes with a cost, flaw, or weakness—perhaps a curse, a jealous sentience, or demands for sacrifice

Expect one new item or follower per session until all five are in play.

Your party must decide who wields or commands each. You may trade them, but be warned: some will resist being passed over—particularly followers who worship Bane or relics that prize ambition. Persuasion, intimidation, or even ritual trial may be required to transfer them.

These tools are meant to:

• Gift your evil characters extra power if you’re willing to manage the consequences
• Force choices between subtle manipulation or blunt trauma methodology
• Create role-play opportunities—many followers and items will speak, scheme, or test your loyalty to Ironhold’s cause

This is a world shaped by its predators. If you’re looking for a campaign with consequence, moral flexibility (toward evil), and a chance to build a dominion from ashes, you’ve found your bloody shore.

Character Creation

This is a Homebrew campaign and persistent world. What happens in your campaign affects the world for all other campaigns in Alderra.

Rules: D&D 5e (2014 rule set)

Your characters all begin at 1st level in Ironhold. You don’t have to be from Ironhold, however. You may instead hail from:

• Fortune’s Crossing
• One of the nearby villages (Wayrest, Stonebridge, Lakbova)
• A more remote place of your own invention (especially if you’re using backgrounds like Hermit or Outlander)

If you choose a remote origin, pick a general spot on the map where you’re from (mountains, deep forest, etc.).

For generating your character, use the Point-Buy method
Alignment: No Lawful Good nor Neutral Good characters.
Progression: Tiered milestone leveling (see below). Missing sessions will slow your character’s advancement compared to consistent players.

When you send me your character, include:

• Your background
• Your hometown or region
• Any ties (family, mentor, faction, deity) you’d like to matter in the story

Game Style

Rich storytelling: Detailed NPCs with deep backgrounds, divine intrigue, war, and opportunity

Tone and focus: Roughly 50% combat and tactical strategy; 50% role-play and intrigue. Expect world exploration, tactical strategizing how to dominate country, alongside dungeon crawls and battles.
Consequences: Your decisions matter. You can kill city NPC leaders. Your characters can die so choose your risks wisely.

Inspiration Points

Two types of Inspiration Points are used in this campaign.

Regular Inspiration Points

• Must be declared before rolling the die
• Grants Advantage on an attack roll, saving throw, or ability check

Super Inspiration Points

• Much rarer than regular inspiration
• Grants Advantage on an attack roll, saving throw, or ability check
• May be declared after rolling the die

Earning Inspiration

The Game Master will award both regular and super inspiration points throughout each session based on exceptional role-play, creative problem-solving, or memorable moments.

At the end of each session, the party will vote to award one regular inspiration point to the player they feel most deserved it during that session.

Equipment Required

Discord for Voice, optionally for Video also
RPG-Tracker for screen image/audio sharing and dice rolling

Safety Methods help_outline

Session 0, Lines and Veils, and X and N cards

Current Adventurers