Are you looking for an in-depth campaign set in the world of Pannithor, that is ready to be run straight out of the box or tweaked to your heart’s desire? If so, -/28 has got you covered!
I wrote Shards of Power: Quest for the Fenulian Mirror during the summer of 2016 and I invested many hours and lots of passion for its creation. Here is an excerpt from the Introduction:
In the center of Pannithor, the massive Infant Sea divides the continents. Born of the melting ice at the end of the Winter War, the Infant Sea rushed in to drown the lands of men with terrifying rapidity. Much of the civilised world was lost to the briny depths during this catastrophic event. As the years marched ever forward, most of what was known about these lands fell from living memory.
Today, the Infant Sea is home to all manner of merchant ships, naval fleets, opportunistic pirates, and treacherous sea monsters. Trade routes crisscross the sea, linking together the cities and lands that surround it, but to sail these waters is not something to be done lightly.
And yet, rumors have begun to surface across Pannithor, carried far and wide as if by a strong ocean breeze. Boasted by drunken sailors in dingy taverns, spoken in hushed tones in the houses of nobility, and reported in confidence by military commanders, the rumors tell of a curious island spotted in the heart of the Infant Sea. Valundar.
Once under the dominion of the Republic of Primovantor, Valundar was one of the many islands consumed by the sea. Precious little knowledge about Valundar has survived, but what remains is reason enough to catch the attention of every denizen across Pannithor.
According to the history books, the isle of Valundar is where Elinathora bade her servants to hide the shards of the Fenulian Mirror. With the power to illuminate the past and divine the future, the Fenulian Mirror was responsible for the demise of the Celestians and ushered in an era of unparalleled misery.
Could the rumors be true? What could have prompted a long-forgotten island to arise? If the wrong creature were to collect the shards and reassemble the Fenulian Mirror, who knows what havoc they could provoke. On the other hand, could the ancient artifact be the key to restoring peace, balance, and order to the world?
Determined to discover the truth of the matter, you assemble your army and set sail for the lost isle of Valundar…
Shards of Power: Quest for the Fenulian Mirror is a hybrid map-based and narrative campaign for Kings of War. Drawing inspiration from Destiny of Kings, The General’s Compendium, Blood in the Badlands, and White Dwarf, this campaign has been designed to immerse players into the world of Pannithor in a way that is exciting, competitive, and story-driven. Rather than playing a series of one-off games or participating in a tournament, players will be building a narrative as they explore Valundar and fight battles in search of the missing shards.
The campaign is set in the lost isle of Valundar and lasts for a series of ten turns. During each turn, players will have the opportunity to move their army on the map however they see fit, engage in a battle against an enemy army they come in contact with, and interact with the environment.
The objective of the campaign is to collect as many shards of the Fenulian Mirror as possible by the end of the tenth turn. There is no strict player minimum/maximum, but four to six seems to be the ideal amount. In addition, one person will need to serve as the Games Master and will organize the campaign rather than participate in it.
I successfully ran the campaign from beginning to end with my local gaming group on two separate occasions, once in 2016 and again in 2018. Each playthrough was different. If you read through the Games Master’s Guide, you will quickly realize that there is more content baked into the adventure than one group could possibly experience in a single campaign.
I tweaked and retooled several aspects of the campaign throughout the years, but it has not been specifically updated for 3rd Edition. That being said, it is still entirely possible to play through the campaign as written. The only change that would need to be made is with the scenarios for some of the map tiles, as they are based on the 2019 Clash of Kings supplement and not the 3rd Edition rulebook.
You are, of course, fully encouraged to make as many changes as you want in order to customize this campaign to fit the specific needs and desires of your gaming group. To my knowledge, it has been run by several different gaming groups in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Argentina. Each of those groups put their own spin on it. Right now, Billy Smith is working on modifying the campaign to incorporate the Halpi’s Rift content, and I am very much looking forward to seeing what he creates!
The rules for the campaign can be found right here on the -/28 website under the Resources tab. The purpose of this article is simply to draw attention to that fact and hopefully inspire some more gamers to give it a try. If you have any comments, questions, or constructive criticism, please send them my way!
