Catastrophe of the Old World: Summary

The campaign “Catastrophe of the Old World” follows the adventures of a group called “The Heroes of the Old World” who unite to combat a catastrophic event. A Knight named Sir Breland of the Spring is prophesied to stop the cataclysm but is also destined to die in the process. The heroes accompany Sir Breland to the Aperture, a gateway constructed to bridge the worlds of Ascalen and Havastra, a realm of dragon-like gods.

Unfortunately, they arrive too late, and the bridge between worlds has already been established. Xandrathyx, a powerful being from Havastra, emerges through the Aperture and easily defeats the heroes and the armies opposing him. To prevent Sir Breland from fulfilling the prophecy, Xandrathyx curses him with immortality and seals him away in a metal tomb that is submerged in the sea.

The player characters in the story include Dolinar Vamys, a priestly advisor with healing abilities; Calen Brightspark, an elven druid capable of manipulating natural disasters; Sir Haydenton of the Winter, a paladin seeking redemption; Wind, an elven warrior queen wielding the unbreakable blade Emeriel; Manon, a martial combatant and wyvern rider sent as a harbinger from a dying world; and “Mad” Maldar Merler, a powerful yet insane mage capable of closing the Aperture.

The party summits the mountain before them, fending of countless cultists and monsters standing in their way but in the final moments, Merler betrays the party, leading to their failure to save Ascalen. Many of the heroes die, while others are forced to retreat. Only Haydenton and Manon are known to have survived. They two escaped carrying a powerful weapon capable of defeating Xandrathyx and his servants. In an effort to ensure the weapon cannot be taken or destoryed they, along with this weapon, are lost to history.

The story is revealed to Rectoress Annalisia Hendrik by The Shrouded Man, who discloses that the truth of the heroes’ failure is concealed from the people of Ascalen. Manipulated by Xandrathyx’s servants, the public believes that the heroes succeeded and that Xandrathyx was slain by Sir Breland’s sacrifice. The Shrouded Man, revealing himself as a Drakin, one of the god-like being who came through, challenges Hendrik’s beliefs and instills doubt about the truth, exposing the control exerted in secret by these god-like beings.

This campaign serves as a cautionary tale, prompting players and new adventurers to question the authenticity of the information they receive and the hidden machinations that shape their world.