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[rizzenm]

The world is Talhith, a memory of what the world once was. Ages ago, the world began to flood, cities fell from the sky, and gods of this old world died. People from all over the world did what they could to survive in this world, the most popular of which was building what is now called a Shard.

Shards are homes built by generations of families trying to remain above the water as it continued to flood the the world. The tips of these Shards are all that can be seen now remaining as another danger for sailors to navigate and an archeological mystery for adventurers to explore. It is unknown what remains, but nearly every expedition has reveled horrors being contained only by the sea.

Urith is the largest continent, its capital city is Towersend. There are many factions and important people that call this continent home and many of them are at odds with each other. The terrain in the north is full of forests and hills. As you get more south you run into the Bog of The Twin Moon’s, a place many deem cursed as it is home to more monsters than men. Going east you can ride through the mostly uninhabited plains that the fallen city of Buelstone lies. Going further east you get to the Giants home mountain, Stormwind Peaks and the floating city Panuu. Going even further you get to the last forest of Urith, until you eventually cross the border into Trorn.

Trorn, commonly referred to as The Horns is the Tiefling homeland, and the lowest elevation found in Talhith. It’s ruler, Zepar Lust, the Ichor Father rules this land with an iron fist. However in recent years they seem to be doing more outreach. Trying to right wrong of the past even though they remain an extremely guarded state. It is defended by the volatile Devil’s Anguish that has lava and poisonous gases that prevent most anyone from crossing over by land.

Ibor was the great home of the now destroyed Purple Dragons Knights. They were soldiers of legend until they eventually sacrificed themselves to defend the world from a great evil. Now it is a shattered wasteland of ravines, and tribes of people fight for what little resources remain.

Gullura is the Elven homeland. It’s captital city, Cynore, has elements of this fae ancestry while also being very coastal. Most buildings are made out of lime and sandstone.

Rotsen is the Dwarfen stronghold. It is the banking and trading hub of the world. In the center of the island is a volcano that powers all of the forges. It is said this volcano was the child of Dwarf and Elf who could not conceive so they combined their magics to create a child made of stone. Soon after the parents argued constantly. The child, feeding of this anger grew to the size of the volcano and nearly destroyed everything before it was put to sleep.

Eagekul is a tropical, forest land home to more of the outsiders of the world. The Istoye forest is the largest fae forest in the world, the Gorge of the Ancients is home to many gearforged.

There is obviously many more place to talk about, and many more yet to be explored. I welcome all questions about this world and the places in it!

[rizzenm]

Before we get started...

Hello and well met!

I am Rizzen and I run a Dungeons & Dragons game called The Misbegotten, and it is now going on its fifth year. The game's official start date was August 23, 2019 at 8:39 p.m. That is when I created the document that would be all my secret plans for the adventurers  that would eventually be called The Misbegotten.

I started this game to get to know some of my classmates better, as I was 1,500 miles away from everything and everyone I ever knew. What it grew into was a story, a world, and friends that I love, appreciate, and admire very dearly. So dearly in fact, that I wanted to start this. More for myself, to write out my thoughts in a more public way so that I stop feeling that I am trapped with all the knowledge and no one to talk to about it. I am hoping to use this blog as a way of chronically this story in a way I am not quite comfortable in my own secret DM notes, which is more often than not a series of bullet points. I want to share this story like how I would tell my friend over dinner at a diner, not a “X person here. Y person dead” that I use to help in the game.

I may also share my occasional takes on gaming as a whole because I don't like getting into Twitter arguments, and I don't want all my thoughts to be couped up in my brain all day. To end this inaugural post I am going to share what might be my most valuable insight into not just D&D, but games as a whole and it may give you insight as to how I run my games:

Games are an art, and like any art their approach to an audience, or in our case, a player can very. I believe that Dungeons & Dragons and most other TTRPGs is a love letter. It is a game that is played best when it is approached by all who play it with an immense and intense, love.

A love letter is a kind of poetry. I have read a lot of poems in my life and I’ve found I’m not the biggest fan of most poems. It probably has something to do with the fact I’m real shit at writing them, but that’s a whole different story. However despite my general dislike of most poems I have read, I have found the best poems ever written and they all start the same, “To, Rizzen.” Now none of you will ever see those poems, because they are for me, the same way I can’t see the love letter written to you. Now you may be asking yourself at this point, “What does any of this have to do with games?” To which I will reply, I’m getting to it.

Over 22 (nearly 23) years ago I was born, and like everyone else we all got delivered our first love letter, our name. My name came with something extra, the love of a game.

Rizzen, is an elven bladesinging, magic collector who has a dislike of violence. Much more into the behind the scenes skullduggery and general roguish behavior of the Forgotten Realms rather than upfront heroics. He is played by my father.

Dungeons & Dragons, a game he grew up with, that he played with his father, that he played with his friends, my mother, people that he loved. If he was told to put his love for the game into a singular word I think that word would be, Rizzen, and he gave that name and that love of game to me.

Before I ever played Dungeons & Dragons I heard of the stories that Rizzen and his companions would get up to. The funny, the triumphant, the sad, the heroic and most of all the absolute love my parents had for the game. The game my dad played in was a letter signed and sealed in love that has expanded a generation.

Now here I am, with more than half of my life dedicated to this game. A game that has defined my career path. A game that I attribute to being the sole reason I ever had any romantic partners. A game that I was born out of love for.

What follows this post are my love letters to the people I have the privilege of DMing for and their love letters to me.