Welcome to Brave New World

Fame. Money. Power. Edward Newgate, the greatest pirate of all time, acheived this and everything else the world had to offer. As they hung him from the gallows, his final words drove countless souls to the seas:   "You want me treasure? Then take it, it's yours! I left everything I gathered in one place. Now you just have to find it!"   These words inspired thousands to take up the flag and sail through the mysterious New World in search of treasure greater than they could have ever imagined, starting the Age of Piracy!

Summary

This campaign is a swashbuckling story set in a world in the midst of its very own golden age of piracy. In this campaign, you'll sail ships, shoot cannons, fire pistols, find treasure, lie, steal, fight deadly sea monsters and most importantly, set sail to find a treasure that is said to make your wildest dreams come true. The central themes of the campaign will be dangerous freedom versus safe order.   During this adventure, you and your party will start out in the relatively mundane Old World with not much to your name, before acquiring a ship and a crew and setting out on an odyssey to a sea called the New World, which has only been successfully navigated through once before. Along the way, you'll encounter weird places, weirder people and creatures, gain notoriety, and no doubt conflict with other like-minded pirates as well as an oppressive navy.   Stories with similar tones and themes include:

• One Piece
• Pirates of the Caribbean
• Treasure Planet
• Princess Bride
• The Odyssey
• Assassin's Creed: Black Flag

 

Your Character

When making your character for this game, the first thing to consider is why they chose to turn to piracy, and why they would be fixated on finding Newgate's treasure. Maybe they dream of wealth or riches, or infamy, or have another dream they hope to accomplish out there in that uncharted ocean. Maybe they have beef with another pirate, and want to find the treasure first to spite them? The important thing to remember is that this treasure has been lost for 20 years now. Most of the world has given up on it ever being found, and most pirates that set out to the New World come back dejected, claiming surviving in that sea is impossible if they come back at all.   Another thing to consider is what your character can bring to the crew beyond their combat ability. Are there any roles on the ship they can perform? (See the Naval Rules and Naval Combat articles for more information.)  

Racial Options

All racial options with the exception of dragonmarked houses from Eberron can be found in the world. The races found in the player's handbook (with the exception of Dragonborn) are all native to the Old World and make up the vast majority of people in the world, and would not be considered unusual in most places. Other Old World races include orcs, goblinoids and kobolds. The rest of the racial options can only be found in the New World, and are relatively unknown outside of their homelands. If you're playing one of these New World races, think about how you came to be in the Old World. Were you taken from your home? Did your parents move to the Old World before your birth? Are you setting out to sea to discover your homeland? Many New World races have unique spins on them that they don't normally have. Feel free to ask me about any changes, and remember that any lore can be changed to better fit the story you have in mind.   In the case of Old World races, feel free to make up most anything about the home you're leaving behind, as the majority of the focus will be on the New World and the denizens within.   Due to mysterious circumstances during the Forgotten Age (more below), most of the races of the world were wiped out. As such, there are no humanoids older than 500 in the setting currently.  

Character Building Rules

  Stats are generated either via standard array, point buy, or by rolling 4d6 and dropping the lowest dice. You may reroll your stats if you don't get at least a 15 or higher in one of your stats(before racial bonuses).   You can replace any weapons your character starts with from the weapons found in the Setting specific weapons article. You can replace any simple melee weapon with another from that article, a martial ranged weapon with another from the article, etc.   As detailed in the House Rules article, you start the game with one feat of your choice.   If you play as a version of a race found in "Mordenkainen Presents Monsters of the Multiverse", you must use the ability score improvement feature of its original version, provided it has one.   The following options are banned:

• Crossbow Expert. It's a feat designed to allow dual-wielding crossbows with other weapons, but actually just makes it so only hand crossbows are viable. Doesn't fit with the setting.
• Twilight Cleric. Twilight Sanctuary grants the whole party 1d6 + cleric level THP every turn, meaning in order to challenge the party I'd need to have enemies dish out insane damage, which in turn means that the party HAS to use it or be overwhelmed, creating a dominant strategy, bad for player enjoyment.
• Silvery Barbs. Makes it wayyy too easy to all but guarantee failed or passed saving throws if used strategically, and can be grabbed with just a feat or 1-level dip. Bad for game health overall.
• Multiple summons. They can clutter up the turn order and its a big party. Single summons are chill.

 

Key Setting Information

The Setup

The world you're about to enter consists of two main parts: the Old World and the New World. The Old World is what you would expect from a DnD setting - goblins and bandits roaming the wilderness, nature loving elves, rock loving dwarves, majority human. The Old World used to be home to several huge empires, but they've collectively declined into small feudal states since then. This is the part of the world you start in.   The New World is a vast and mysterious ocean that was first discovered 2 centuries ago. It is home to many strange and powerful creatures, weather and people. Although it has been known about for centuries, less than 10% of it has been charted. Sailors that go there often return home having gone mad, or are lost to the sea forever. Even with years of expeditions, no one has even seen what lies on the other side.   Except for one man.   A notorious pirate by the name Edward Newgate, a.k.a 'the Pirate King' if you're being polite, 'Fannybaws' if you're not, and his crew of miscreants - the Alestorm Pirates - defied the odds and sailed across the New World, plundering and pillaging untold riches along the way. Having returned to his hometown from the sea, he promptly disbanded his crew and turned himself in to the Marines. He was executed publicly, but not before issuing his now infamous challenge - that the first person to sail across the New World and find his hoarde may have it all. The promise of such a treasure and the rumours of what one could achieve with it inspired countless dreamers to take up the black flag and attempt to sail to the ends of the earth in order to claim the treasure, and the world entered what is known as the Age of Pirates.   That was nearly 20 years ago.   When our story begins, the trail has gone cold. People are beginning to doubt if the treasure really existed, and even if it does, one of the supremely powerful pirates that have risen in the last 20 years will claim it any day now. But none of that deters your characters. Maybe you're optimistic, maybe you're a fool, but you are determined to make that treasure yours.  

Technology Level

The current technology level of the world is similar to that of our real world in the 1600s. That means gunpowder, flintlock pistols, cannons and sailing ships.  

Gods and Deities

Whilst many cultures in the world worship higher powers, there is little definitive proof that gods exist. Priests and shamans will no doubt point to what they consider definitive proof, but gods don't appear in physical form, nor do they directly speak to their faithful. Instead, clerics derive their power from their faith in higher beings. Some worship the traditional pantheons, some worship in a monotheistic fashion, and others still worship the New World as a god itself. Powerful entities that could be considered godlike do exist in the world, and are often worshipped as such, but there is no proof of such being's divinity.   Sailors, ever superstitious, have a few entities they respect/fear, such as powerful sea monsters and ghost stories. Chief among these tall tales being Old Ed, an devil-like figure rumoured to claim the souls of those lost at sea, not dissimilar to Davy Jones in our world.  

The New World Trading Company

One of the most common organisations you'll be dealing with during your encounters is the New World Trading Company (also known as the NWTC, or simply 'The Company'). Founded nearly 500 years ago, the NWTC started off as a simple trading company focussed on ferrying cargo to and from colonies in the New World. With the myriad of dangers in the New World and the rise of piracy, the NWTC was forced to develop its own personal militia. Over time as the Company grew and the Old World empires crumbled, the NWTC found itself with the largest navy in the known world, with many former New World colonies and remains of Old World kingdoms heavily reliant on their commerce. The Company has since branched out and now seeks to defend the citizens of the world from monsters and pirates alike.   They bolster the military of many a port and enforce their very strict anti-piracy laws. Any individual found guilty of such piracy is subjected to a short drop and sudden stop.  

History

The following section is a brief overview of the world's history as known by laymen and those of moderate education. The calendar of the world is divvied into 12 months that make up a year, the same as ours, but the key difference is that the calendar gets reset in the wake of historical events that change the landscape of the world in some way. The current time in the world at the start of the campaign would be denoted as the 22nd day of the 6th month in the 21st year of the Age of Piracy. Below is a brief overview of the major events of each Age.  

Age of Antiquity

as far back as modern calendars go. This is the time in which the major kingdoms of the Old World began to rise and spread their dominance across the continent, predominantly these empires where human-halfling, dwarf, elf, or orc-goblin ran. This time period began with the first castle constructed by mortal hands, and lasted around 300 years, ending at an unclear date sometime roughly 300 years before the modern day.  

The Forgotten Age

A period of history that followed the Age of Antiquity and lasted roughly 200 years, ending roughly 500 years ago. Little to no records from this time exist at all, despite the multiple critical historical events that occurred during it, such as an enormous calamity that seemingly wiped out almost every living being in the world. So great was that calamity, that no people live now that remember it. The long-lived races, such as the elves and gnomes, have still yet to recover from this event, being left with no true elders in their communities. The noble houses that would eventually come together to form the NWTC were also founded during this age.   Although no records from this time exist in the Old World, it is theorised by some that there may be some evidence in the New World.   Uncovering the secrets of this age is the dream of many a scholar, but as of now the only benefactor to finance research and expeditions is the NWTC, who are particularly choosy about who they give grants to.  

Age of Discovery

A period of history that immediately followed the Forgotten Age and began with the discovery of the New World, lasting roughly 500 years. Whilst many cultures had migrated far west and seen the mysterious sea before, it was long thought to be simply barren, the end of life in the world. It was only when a dwarven explorer by the name of Orlumbus sailed out and came back with gold and wild stories that these beliefs were changed.   Thus began an age where every empire worth it's salt would race one another to explore this brave new world and claim its riches for their own. Colonies sprang up all throughout the sea, aided by the then-newly-formed New World Trading Company. With the boom of exploration, the world experienced a boom of technological innovation unseen before, with bigger and better ships for open-water sailing, and the proliferation of gunpowder weapons to stave off rivals. It was considered a golden age by many.   It was not to last.   The myriad empires of the Old World had become too large and sprawling for their own good. Maintaining a presence in the New World as well as fending off rivals on a domestic level became untenable to keep up. Some empires accepted the lost and downsized, while others stretched themselves thinner by neglecting their subjects. Others succumbed to infighting. Eventually, over the course of the Age, the great kingdoms of the Old World diminished into almost nothing. This left a lot of military personnel with sailing experience and a sudden lack of a job. Naturally, many of them turned to piracy. With the empires gone, it seemed that the dream of seeing what lay beyond the New World would now never come true.   Until Edward Newgate came into the picture.   Newgate had already garnered a worldwide reputation as a fearsome pirate, with many fearing or adoring him throughout the world. He was known for his crass sense of humour, referring to himself as 'Fannybaws'. Songs were sung in his name, and scary stories were told about him in the dark. He became more folk legend than man.   So when he returned from a long voyage claiming to have seen the other side of the New World, he cemented himself as a true myth coming to life in the eyes of the people, earning him the new title of 'King of the Pirates'. This man was truly unstoppable. The populace's shock then doubled, as this great pirate who could achieve the impossible abruptly turned himself in to the NWTC.   Little did the Company suspect, that public hanging would be an event so earthshaking that the scholars would reset the entire calendar over it.  

Age of Piracy

The current era. It began 21 years ago with the execution of the Pirate King, Edward 'Fannybaws' Newgate. His final words, affirming that he had left a great treasure on the other side of the New World created such an immense rise in piracy cases that it would be what this age is defined by. Countless pirates took to the New World, taking territory and developing crews to rival militaries.   In the 21 years since the trail has gone cold. Many are of the opinion that Newgate lied about seeing the other side of the world, and merely did it to stir up drama. As such, the number of new pirate crews appearing has diminished somewhat but is still going strong.