Kings of Kavus: The -/28 Campaign!

This is an introduction to the -/28 Campaign that we will be playing and posting about for the next several months. So read on, and at the end of the article you’ll discover how you can participate and cheer your favorite player onward to victory!

Background:

On the western edge of the Dragon Teeth Mountains, on the border of the Successor Kingdoms in that gray area between the dominion of the Hegemony and the scrabbling wars of the Fledgling States, lies the almost abandoned Kavus Keep, an old venture between the now-extinct Primovantor Empire and the ancient Dwarven Kingdoms. Established in order to exploit the rich silver veins that run deep into the bones of the mountains, this mighty fortress was a testament to both the vanity and the brilliance of the Dwarven architects that built it. Colossal gates stand perpetually open with great, rusted chains attached to pulleys that will never move again. Sweeping architecture with carved runic symbols etched into the living stone abound once inside the shadow of the grand walls surrounding the mine itself which plunges deep into the belly of the earth.

No longer do the bellows roar in this fortress, the forges lay cold and sleeping eternally in wait for the promised ore from the gaping hole in the earth. In the center of the Grand Square there stands a half-destroyed statue of a man and a dwarf grasping hands in friendship, a celebratory symbol of the cooperation that brought this city into being. But time has worn away the features of these statues so that they look closer to a child’s imaginings molded out of clay…

So great was the wealth of this all but forgotten mining fortress that a great city was established in the nearby glades that lay on the edge of the grasslands beyond. Equally ancient buildings still stand in the City of Alrenn, which has traded hands between each of the short-lived kingdoms that fleetingly spring up among the Fledgling Kingdoms. Sometimes acting as a capitol for those ill-fated monarchs, other times a forgotten jewel in their haste to seize more lands. The people of Alrenn mainly ignore the comings and goings of their would-be rulers as they know that such things are as likely to change as the weather.

Other villages, such as those of the Windy Hills, or Shesham Village, exist as auxiliary suppliers of lumber, or blacksmithing, or other small necessities that the city proper of Alrenn prefers to outsource to their neighbors. In the distance, amidst a dead forest, one can see the remnants of a golden age long past. The locals call it cursed but the Ruins of Vrett stand like a tombstone to mark the death of the Celestians with tumbled down stone buildings and archways as their silent witnesses to the passing of the years.

To the north stands an isolated Basilean Temple dedicated to the ancient and presumed dead Celestian Arabos. Now only a token standing of monks and battle sisters attend to the simple shrines dedicated to their patron and his divided aspects as celebrated in humble iconography. They say they have as a relic the mummified thumb bones of Arabos that act as a conduit for divine energy for any who would dare touch such a sacred artifact, if they be pure of heart anyways. This is kept guarded in their vaults far below, the High Priest forbidden to remove it from its resting place unless under the most dire of circumstances.

Across the Rosewood Bridge, a wondrous work of engineering spanning almost a mile in width, stands the mystical Library of Threl. This ancient repository of knowledge is guarded by malevolent and deranged spirits of its former librarians driven mad by the deep silence that they forced on any who dared enter its fabled walls. Now they kill any who dare intrude on their solitude, their deathly shushings hissing through the stacks like a million vipers as they rush to quiet the incessant breathing noises of the living.

Lastly, there is the legendary outpost named for the infamous bandit Jusef Brigg who successfully held off a siege of 10,000 angry goblins with a force of only 100 men and his rather grumpy pet bear. The siege lasted for seven months, the defenders surviving by eating their boots and, at one point, in a great and melancholy moment of feasting, the bear. It could have gone for longer but the goblins fell to infighting and eventually ran off into the nearby marches where they were drowned or eaten by the local predators.

This is a land that has known war for as long as there have been creatures to fight over it, and now it has attracted a new host of warlords hoping to make it their own. Whether drawn to the promise of silver in the mines of Kavus Keep, the forbidden knowledge of Threl, or the legendary fortresses of Alrenn or Brigg’s Outpost, all the mighty generals who have gathered have their own reasons for being here.

War is a part of life in the lands of Mantica, and it is alive and well here.

Welcome to the -/28 Campaign

This is an exciting event that we are happy to share with all of you! Over the next 6 months (or from now to December) 6 of our intrepid writers will be engaged in a battle for dominance of the Mines of Kavus. Already the warlords have staked their claims on the various pieces of land surrounding the mountainous region and sent forth their challenges. Allow me to introduce you to the players on this soon-to-be bloody stage:

Billy Smith – King Billiam XXXVII

Hailing from the Free Dwarfs to the east, King Billiam has established himself as a fierce warrior of no small renown. Atop his mighty dire pug he charges fearlessly into battle for the sake of his heritage and to protect the free trade of coffee in his established homeland. He has claimed the capitol City of Alrenn for his own.

In this opening battle, King Billiam has challenged the detestable Zoraida, the Hag of the Swamp.

Jake Ciarapica – Zoraida, Hag of the Swamp

Something wicked has crawled out of the shadow that covers the Ruins of Vrett, a seeping evil that beckons to the nightmarish creatures of the dark to come and feast upon the fear of the denizens of the surrounding countryside. At the epicenter of this hellish disease sits the repulsive hag of the swamp, Zoraida. A pariah and practitioner of forbidden rituals, she brings with her the terrible Nightstalkers and if unchecked, will cover the citizens of the land in a feverish pit of terror.

First, she must deal with the tenacious Billiam before she can enact the rest of her plan.

Mike Rossi – Yuil Drassill, Lord of Many Branches

Perhaps in response to the creeping darkness that is threatening to overwhelm Kavus Keep and claim the prizes therein, or maybe to seek retribution against the greedy axes of men. Yuil Drassill has led his army of treemen and rocks across the wastes beyond Shesham Village to strike at the heart of this threat to nature’s balance.

He has set his sights on the peoples of Windy Hills and only the forces of the Hegemon stand in his way.

Chris Fisher – Dictator Prefect Christos of Ardar

Following the orders of Gnaeus Sallustis himself, Dictator Prefect Christos is a loyal servant of the Hegemony and is faithfully leading his troops to defend the citizens of Basilea from the savage forces of the wilds. At present, he is the only thing standing between the people of Windy Hills and the howling death that is sweeping toward them with Yuil Drassill at the head of that terrible fate.

Ashley Mowat – The Captain

Little is known about this mysterious figure and the forces of men who march behind him, only that he has laid claim to Brigg’s Outpost and that the people there love him already. He has set his eyes on the marshlands to the north and in so doing has challenged the dwarf overlord Burgus Stonehart to battle in order to claim them as his own.

Alex Chaves – Burgus Stoneheart, Might of the Mountain

There can only be one dwarven king of Kavus and Burgus Stoneheart already knows that it is he who is destined to rule in those empty halls. For now he is prepared to fend off The Captain and his army of men, but his sights have not wavered from their true goal hidden deep within the mountains to the west of where he has established himself by the haunted Library of Threl.

How Does this work?

Each month, players will take turn issuing challenges to the other generals. Once challenges are issued the players will set up a time and place (usually on Universal Battle if in person is not a possibility) where they will play a game. There are no restrictions on game size, rules, or scenarios used for these games, only that both players agree to whatever terms are decided.

Once the battle has been fought, the players of each battle will co-author a battle report with their opponent detailing the gruesome details of their fight and who came out the victor from their struggle. The player who wins will annex the closest hex to their capitol from their defeated foe into their own small kingdom.

Players receive 1 point for playing in a battle and publishing their reports on time (the 25th of each month) and 1 additional point for each victory they obtain. Then, at the end of the campaign players will receive 2 points for each hex they control. Combine that with their other points they’ve earned from their battle reports and the player who has the most points will be crowned the King (or Queen) of Kavus Keep!

How can you be a part of this?

Now comes the bit where we ask for your participation as the reader. Each month the players in this campaign will be publishing articles on the 25th of the month for your reading pleasure. We ask you to please not only read and enjoy them but also help shape the fate of these warlords in their struggles.

We will be asking for you to vote for your favorite battle report of the 3 that will be published each month. The winners of these votes will receive an additional point from you. There are no criteria for your vote, just whichever one you enjoyed reading the most. Whether that is because you enjoyed the narrative aspect of their batrep, or the tactical breakdown, or the cool pictures that they put into it, you, the readers, will decide who gets these additional points which may come down to helping decide the victor.

Voting will be simple. The best and most effective way you can make your voice heard is by simply commenting on the batrep article here on -/28 that you want to vote for that article as your favorite for the month and why you chose that one, or you can join our Facebook page for -/28 found here and we will put a voting poll up there where you can cast your vote.

Article comments here on the -/28 website will count as double, however, so keep that in mind.

Over the next few days, each of the participants in this campaign will be posting their own introductory articles to give the background on their own armies and their expectations for the coming battles.

To recap, the first round of challenges has already issued:

Billy Smith vs. Jake Ciarapica
Mike Rossi vs. Chris Fisher
Ashley Mowat vs. Alex Chaves

Let us know in the comments who you plan on rooting for!