The Dark Invasion of Lani

A recent history of Lani

For thousands of years the world of Lani had known peace, safe from the evil force known only as the Dark. This all changed on the 31st of Haust when would-be heroes destroyed the mechanism protecting the world. The invasion of the Dark began. The Hexen Tower fell, the elves of Eldravire were slaughtered, the ancient Temple of Sif burned, and the people of the Spine Mountains were scattered to the wind to become nomadic raiders. Some few cities stood against the tide of the Dark and battled through the final days of Haust. Thousands upon thousands of souls were slaughtered, many of the dead forced to join the army of their enemy as wraiths, shadows, or other undead beings. The once-peaceful greens of Lani became haunted.

It is now Vintr, in the year 2367. Travel is difficult and temperatures are frigid. The great light of Pua is gone, along with what seems the hope of the people. Those who remain are focused on survival. Many have turned their backs on the kind ways of before and have reverted to more primal needs, chaos once again upon the land. The millennia of peace between species is endangered and mistrust has replaced the neighbourly greetings from before the fall of the Great Tower of Lighting.

It feels like an unending battle against the Dark, without any hope to win, only to survive for another day. A few heroes, however, search for the answer to fighting back the Dark.

GAME MASTER NOTE: It is currently Season 2 of this campaign. Season 1 details are available in the Corruption of Lani archive.

Basic geography of Lani

Lani is an enormous island locked in by wide oceans in all directions. Most of the land is now covered in Vintr snow and ice and heavily infested by members of the Dark.

There stand only four fully safe zones in Lani: the great city of Pua, it’s sister city of Vornstrand, the city of Nidavellir under the Spine Mountains, and the region around the ancient city of Denn. Most of the rest of the world is in chaos. Where villages and cities have been destroyed, any survivors have fled to the safe zones or have created raiding parties in the region of their previous homes. These small bands of raiders make travel dangerous outside of the safe zones.

Denn itself has been mostly destroyed, with only a small portion of the docks defended by a goblin leader known as Boblin and his general, a druid named Echo. A ragtag group of survivors have been trained to form the Denn Watch, fighting back for control of the great city. Most of the town remains infested with creatures of the Dark.

The Hexen Tower has fallen, ending the age of enlightened advances in technology and magic. Most of the arcano-tech in existence has become inoperable or fallen into disrepair after many ten-days of use without proper maintenance. Skilled arcanists, technomancers, and artificers do their best but generally the technology has regressed to a more simple and reliable form. The Hexen Tower itself lies in rubble, any treasures it once held either destroyed or buried under thousands of tonnes of rubble.

The elven city of Eldravire, once revered for its beauty, is but a haunted ruins of the dead and undead. It is said to be filled with amazing treasures for those that would brave its boundaries. None have ever been successful, however.

Theology and species

Superstition and a belief in the old gods has grown in power and popularity. Faced with certain evil before them, prayer to the gods is now common place and there has been a steady growth in the number of clerics, paladins, and other divine believers who have begun to push back against the Dark.

Lani is an incredibly diverse world with many different species that were previously spread throughout the world. With mistrust of others at high levels and survival as a primary need, many of these species have started pulling back towards more xenophobic communities and staying only amongst their own kind again. This has fractured relations between the species of the land.

The elves, previously the longest-lived species in Lani, have been almost completely eradicated. They are now one of the most rare beings to walk the lands and are rumoured to be hiding in small bands in the forests of the North and East. A small group of refugees now resides in Pua’s Midtown, forming a small community within the town.

The mountain dwarves of Nidavellir have been largely untouched by the changes above the surface, having defended their home with ferocity. The king under the mountain has allowed all seeking refuge to join the halls of Nidavellir. Living in the dark under the mountain does not sit well with all people, however.